Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stock Position in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Free Report) by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 166,079,133 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,967,010 shares during the quarter. B2Gold accounts for 0.6% of Van ECK Associates Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 12.71% of B2Gold worth $566,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in B2Gold by 21.9% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 184,373 shares of the company's stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 33,113 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new position in B2Gold in the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC raised its position in B2Gold by 31.6% in the second quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 6,032,986 shares of the company's stock worth $16,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450,000 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in B2Gold in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, KG&L Capital Management LLC raised its position in B2Gold by 9.6% in the second quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 207,500 shares of the company's stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 18,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BTG. Scotiabank downgraded shares of B2Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 17th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of B2Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Cormark downgraded shares of B2Gold from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of B2Gold from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, B2Gold presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $4.12.

B2Gold Trading Down 0.9 %

BTG traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $3.29. 12,868,841 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,679,525. The company has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.91, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3.13. B2Gold Corp. has a 1 year low of $2.34 and a 1 year high of $3.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.93.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $492.57 million for the quarter. B2Gold had a negative net margin of 7.44% and a positive return on equity of 8.01%. Equities analysts expect that B2Gold Corp. will post 0.25 EPS for the current year.

B2Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. B2Gold's payout ratio is -145.44%.

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.