Monaco Asset Management SAM Decreases Stock Position in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG)

Key Points

• Monaco Asset Management SAM significantly reduced its stake in B2Gold Corp. by 61.5%, selling 800,000 shares and retaining 500,000 shares, valued at approximately $1.425 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Bank of America and Invesco, have increased their holdings in B2Gold, which indicates growing interest in the company.
• B2Gold recently reported a $0.09 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 15.3% increase in revenue compared to the same period last year.

Monaco Asset Management SAM trimmed its holdings in shares of B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Free Report) by 61.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 500,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 800,000 shares during the period. Monaco Asset Management SAM's holdings in B2Gold were worth $1,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in B2Gold by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,933 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 5,288 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 84,642 shares of the company's stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 21,439 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,010,477 shares of the company's stock worth $129,823,000 after buying an additional 1,165,204 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 875,145 shares of the company's stock worth $2,147,000 after buying an additional 11,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of B2Gold during the fourth quarter worth $183,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.40% of the company's stock.

B2Gold Stock Up 2.1%

BTG stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3.44. 41,269,721 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 42,896,359. 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 company has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $3.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.10. B2Gold Corp. has a 1-year low of $2.20 and a 1-year high of $3.83.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. B2Gold had a negative net margin of 33.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.65%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. The company's revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that B2Gold Corp. will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

B2Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 11th were given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 11th. B2Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -17.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BTG has been the subject of a number of research reports. National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of B2Gold in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank raised shares of B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of B2Gold to a "moderate buy" rating and set a $4.50 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Cormark raised shares of B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, B2Gold currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.