B2Gold Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:BTG)

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 43,782 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 129% compared to the average daily volume of 19,124 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on BTG shares. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of B2Gold to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 21st. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of B2Gold in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Cormark lowered B2Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their target price on B2Gold from $4.75 to $6.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.00.

B2Gold Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of B2Gold stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $4.51. The company had a trading volume of 15,084,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,908,824. B2Gold has a 52-week low of $2.20 and a 52-week high of $5.94. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.41 and a 200 day moving average of $4.27.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.01. B2Gold had a positive return on equity of 5.65% and a negative net margin of 33.12%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 74.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that B2Gold will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

B2Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 2nd. B2Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On B2Gold

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in B2Gold by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,261,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,231,000 after acquiring an additional 3,640 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 2.2% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 204,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 4,429 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of B2Gold by 47.3% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 16,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 5,160 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in B2Gold in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in B2Gold by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 11,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 6,903 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.40% of the company’s stock.

About B2Gold

B2Gold Corp. is a Canadian-based gold producer headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 2007, the company focuses on the acquisition, exploration, development and operation of gold mining properties in emerging markets. Since its inception, B2Gold has grown into a mid-tier producer with a portfolio of operating mines, advanced-stage development assets and exploration projects.

The company’s principal operations include the Fekola mine in Mali, the Otjikoto mine in Namibia, the Masbate mine in the Philippines and the La Libertad mine in Nicaragua.