Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Holdings in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,957,155 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 143,663 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.30% of B2Gold worth $12,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in B2Gold by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 166,079,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,312,000 after buying an additional 47,967,010 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of B2Gold by 2.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,158,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,824,000 after acquiring an additional 282,070 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in B2Gold by 39.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,284,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,053,000 after purchasing an additional 3,474,553 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in B2Gold by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,596,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,837,000 after purchasing an additional 4,754,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in B2Gold by 80.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,450,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,957,000 after purchasing an additional 3,311,970 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.40% of the company’s stock.

B2Gold Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE:BTG opened at $2.61 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of -4.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.08. B2Gold Corp. has a 52-week low of $2.34 and a 52-week high of $3.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $448.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $449.28 million. B2Gold had a negative net margin of 38.42% and a positive return on equity of 7.53%. B2Gold’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.05 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that B2Gold Corp. will post 0.23 EPS for the current year.

B2Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. B2Gold’s payout ratio is currently -28.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BTG. Cormark cut B2Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Cibc World Mkts cut B2Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $3.75 price target on shares of B2Gold in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of B2Gold from $3.30 to $3.60 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of B2Gold from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.12.

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.