B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) Trading Down 2% - Here's What Happened

Shares of B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) traded down 2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $2.43 and last traded at $2.46. 5,396,025 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 14,310,913 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on BTG. CIBC dropped their price target on B2Gold from $3.70 to $3.30 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of B2Gold from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of B2Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of B2Gold from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $3.75 price objective on shares of B2Gold in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.02.

B2Gold Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $2.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.89. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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

B2Gold Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On B2Gold

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Old West Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in B2Gold during the 3rd quarter worth $670,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of B2Gold by 0.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 59,489,129 shares of the company's stock worth $183,862,000 after buying an additional 438,399 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of B2Gold in the third quarter valued at about $2,636,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 133.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 1,977,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,334,000 after buying an additional 1,131,534 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in B2Gold by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 95,482 shares of the company's stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 36,555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.