Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 240,646 Shares of B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG)

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Free Report) by 37.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 881,477 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 240,646 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.07% of B2Gold worth $2,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new position in B2Gold during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Independent Wealth Network Inc. bought a new position in shares of B2Gold in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in B2Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kercheville Advisors LLC bought a new stake in B2Gold during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Walker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in B2Gold during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 61.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

B2Gold Price Performance

BTG traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $3.58. The stock had a trading volume of 44,033,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,573,941. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3.58 and a 200-day moving average of $3.14. B2Gold Corp. has a one year low of $2.20 and a one year high of $3.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of -7.46, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.39.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). B2Gold had a positive return on equity of 5.65% and a negative net margin of 33.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 40.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that B2Gold Corp. will post 0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. CIBC reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $4.00 price objective (up previously from $3.60) on shares of B2Gold in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial upgraded B2Gold to a "moderate buy" rating and set a $4.50 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, June 30th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of B2Gold in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Cormark upgraded B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, B2Gold currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $4.31.

B2Gold Company Profile

B2Gold Corp. operates as a gold producer company. It operates the Fekola Mine in Mali, the Masbate Mine in the Philippines, and the Otjikoto Mine in Namibia. The company also has an 100% interest in the Gramalote gold project in Colombia; 24% interest in the Calibre Mining Corp.; and approximately 19% interest in BeMetals Corp.