Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Holdings in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in shares of B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Free Report) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,427,329 shares of the company's stock after selling 413,888 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.72% of B2Gold worth $30,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BTG. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in B2Gold by 40.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 166,079,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $566,312,000 after buying an additional 47,967,010 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of B2Gold by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 17,875,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,058,000 after acquiring an additional 7,165,600 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of B2Gold by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,596,488 shares of the company's stock worth $35,837,000 after purchasing an additional 4,754,500 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,284,484 shares of the company's stock worth $33,053,000 after purchasing an additional 3,474,553 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in B2Gold by 80.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,450,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,957,000 after purchasing an additional 3,311,970 shares during the last quarter. 61.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BTG. Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of B2Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of B2Gold from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of B2Gold from $3.30 to $3.60 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $3.75 target price on shares of B2Gold in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered B2Gold from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, B2Gold currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $4.12.

B2Gold Price Performance

NYSE:BTG traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $2.44. 17,066,916 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,836,354. The business's 50-day moving average price is $2.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of -4.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.08. B2Gold Corp. has a 12-month low of $2.34 and a 12-month high of $3.50.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.03). B2Gold had a negative net margin of 38.42% and a positive return on equity of 7.53%. The firm had revenue of $448.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $449.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that B2Gold Corp. will post 0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

B2Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.56%. B2Gold's dividend payout ratio is currently -28.57%.

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.