B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 20,283,257 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the previous session’s volume of 18,442,410 shares.The stock last traded at $2.87 and had previously closed at $3.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BTG has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America lowered shares of B2Gold from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of B2Gold from $3.30 to $3.60 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Cormark upgraded B2Gold from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, TD Securities cut B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.12.

B2Gold Stock Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $2.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.84.

B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. B2Gold’s payout ratio is -16.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On B2Gold

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new position in shares of B2Gold during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in B2Gold during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of B2Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of B2Gold by 176.1% in the 4th 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, Flow Traders U.S. LLC bought a new position in shares of B2Gold during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.40% of the company’s stock.

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.