B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) Trading Up 4.9% - Time to Buy?

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) shares rose 4.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $2.87 and last traded at $2.90. Approximately 10,711,396 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 32,123,955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities downgraded B2Gold from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America lowered shares of B2Gold from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of B2Gold from $3.70 to $3.30 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Cormark upgraded shares of B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, B2Gold currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $4.02.

B2Gold Stock Up 7.6 %

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $2.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.81. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.09.

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B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. B2Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On B2Gold

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTG. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. bought a new stake in shares of B2Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in B2Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of B2Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 176.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,935 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 8,250 shares during the period. Finally, Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of B2Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at 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.