Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Stake in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG)

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Free Report) by 65.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 640,831 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 254,274 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in B2Gold were worth $1,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 36,555 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in B2Gold in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of B2Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,597,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of B2Gold by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 910,558 shares of the company's stock worth $2,804,000 after purchasing an additional 174,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,075,521 shares of the company's stock worth $7,544,000 after purchasing an additional 661,107 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.40% of the company's stock.

B2Gold Price Performance

NYSE:BTG traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $3.35. The stock had a trading volume of 66,242,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,492,500. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $2.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.83. B2Gold Corp. has a one year low of $2.20 and a one year high of $3.51.

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B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. B2Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -16.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTG has been the topic of several research reports. Cormark lowered B2Gold from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of B2Gold in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Scotiabank upgraded B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. TD Securities cut B2Gold from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of B2Gold from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, B2Gold presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.