The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Position in B2Gold Corp. $BTG

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company has reduced its stake in B2Gold Corp. by 14.9%, owning approximately 0.53% of the company post-sale.
• Analysts have given mixed ratings on B2Gold, with a consensus average rating of "Hold" and a price target of approximately $4.31.
• B2Gold recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.9%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,951,838 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,218,276 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.53% of B2Gold worth $19,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BTG. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. bought a new stake in B2Gold in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Independent Wealth Network Inc. bought a new stake in B2Gold in the first quarter worth $28,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in B2Gold in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Kercheville Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of B2Gold during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Walker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of B2Gold during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. 61.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

B2Gold Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE BTG traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $4.17. 41,109,117 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,468,234. B2Gold Corp. has a 12-month low of $2.20 and a 12-month high of $4.34. 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 50-day moving average price of $3.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.35. The firm has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.42.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 40.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that B2Gold Corp. will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

B2Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. B2Gold's payout ratio is currently -22.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on BTG. Raymond James Financial raised shares of B2Gold to a "moderate buy" rating and set a $4.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, June 30th. CIBC reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $4.00 price objective (up from $3.60) on shares of B2Gold in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of B2Gold in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of B2Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.31.

About B2Gold

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.