OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Takes Position in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG)

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in shares of B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,108,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,704,000. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.08% of B2Gold at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new position in B2Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of B2Gold in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of B2Gold during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 176.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,935 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 8,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carrera Capital Advisors acquired a new position in B2Gold during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 61.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

B2Gold Price Performance

BTG stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.95. 36,238,429 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,010,048. B2Gold Corp. has a 12-month low of $2.20 and a 12-month high of $3.51. The company has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock's 50 day moving average is $3.05 and its 200 day moving average is $2.80.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that B2Gold Corp. will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

B2Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 11th. B2Gold's dividend payout ratio is presently -17.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on BTG. Cormark raised B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. TD Securities cut B2Gold from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $4.50 price target on shares of B2Gold in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of B2Gold in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $4.21.

B2Gold 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.