B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) Stock Price Up 7.9% – Time to Buy?

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG)’s share price shot up 7.9% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $3.66 and last traded at $3.64. 11,125,122 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 25,419,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of B2Gold in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of B2Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank raised shares of B2Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $4.50 price target on shares of B2Gold in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Cormark raised B2Gold from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4.21.

B2Gold Stock Up 7.3%

The company has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $3.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. B2Gold had a negative net margin of 33.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that B2Gold Corp. will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

B2Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. B2Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.02%.

Institutional Trading of B2Gold

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of B2Gold by 89.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,707,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,357 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 181.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,158,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,253,000 after buying an additional 5,262,266 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in B2Gold during the first quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Amundi increased its holdings in B2Gold by 33.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 10,849,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,682,000 after buying an additional 2,710,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in B2Gold in the first quarter worth approximately $2,342,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.