B2Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:BTG) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of B2Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:BTG - Get Free Report) TSE: BTO have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $4.85.

Several brokerages have commented on BTG. CIBC downgraded B2Gold from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $4.20 to $3.60 in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of B2Gold from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of B2Gold in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $3.50 price objective for the company.

B2Gold Stock Performance

Shares of BTG traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $2.66. 13,815,845 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,138,644. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 132.82, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.09. B2Gold has a 52-week low of $2.34 and a 52-week high of $4.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.90.

B2Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:BTG - Get Free Report) TSE: BTO last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). B2Gold had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 0.31%. The business had revenue of $511.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $512.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that B2Gold will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

B2Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.03%. B2Gold's dividend payout ratio is currently 400.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On B2Gold

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in B2Gold by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,343,623 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,757,000 after purchasing an additional 103,507 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in B2Gold by 13.7% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 199,062 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 24,045 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in B2Gold by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 577,840 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 30,187 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in B2Gold by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 39,711 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 9,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its stake in B2Gold by 52.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 26,750 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 9,250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.40% of the company's stock.

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.