B2Gold Corp. $BTG Shares Sold by Sprott Inc.

Key Points

• Sprott Inc. reduced its stake in B2Gold Corp. by 62.5%, selling 1,925,448 shares during the first quarter, and now holds 1,155,774 shares valued at approximately $3.29 million.
• B2Gold plans to distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share, with shareholders of record receiving the payment on September 23rd, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.1%.
• Analysts have varying ratings on B2Gold shares, with a consensus target price set at $4.31, indicating mixed sentiment towards the stock's future performance.

Sprott Inc. trimmed its position in shares of B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Free Report) by 62.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,155,774 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,925,448 shares during the quarter. Sprott Inc. owned 0.09% of B2Gold worth $3,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of B2Gold during the first quarter worth approximately $24,949,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in B2Gold by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 26,524,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,435,000 after acquiring an additional 3,865,565 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of B2Gold by 577.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,519,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,028,000 after purchasing an additional 3,852,095 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of B2Gold by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,791,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,406,000 after purchasing an additional 3,804,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of B2Gold by 62.8% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,499,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,319,000 after buying an additional 2,891,950 shares in the last quarter. 61.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BTG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of B2Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. CIBC restated a "neutral" rating and set a $4.00 target price (up previously from $3.60) on shares of B2Gold in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. National Bankshares reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of B2Gold in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of B2Gold to a "moderate buy" rating and set a $4.50 target price for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, B2Gold has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4.31.

B2Gold Stock Up 0.1%

BTG stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.06. The company had a trading volume of 14,703,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,405,680. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.26. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.83. B2Gold Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $2.20 and a fifty-two week high of $4.08.

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

B2Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. B2Gold's dividend payout ratio is presently -22.86%.

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.