B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $3.24, but opened at $3.17. B2Gold shares last traded at $3.33, with a volume of 11,404,954 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BTG. Cormark lowered B2Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. CIBC upped their price target on shares of B2Gold from $3.30 to $3.60 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. TD Securities lowered shares of B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. National Bankshares restated an “outperform” rating on shares of B2Gold in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America cut B2Gold from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.21.

B2Gold Stock Up 3.4 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.81. The company has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of -6.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.93. 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 Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. B2Gold’s payout ratio is currently -16.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On B2Gold

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new position in B2Gold in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in B2Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in shares of B2Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of B2Gold in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of B2Gold by 176.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 8,250 shares during the last quarter. 61.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About B2Gold

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.