Short Interest in B2Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:BTG) Rises By 12.9%

B2Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:BTG) (TSE:BTO) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,740,000 shares, an increase of 12.9% from the May 31st total of 15,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

B2Gold Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSEAMERICAN BTG traded down $0.02 on Monday, reaching $2.68. The company had a trading volume of 4,070,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,534,241. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of -89.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $2.80. B2Gold has a 52-week low of $2.34 and a 52-week high of $3.83.

B2Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:BTG) (TSE:BTO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $461.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $453.81 million. B2Gold had a negative net margin of 2.10% and a positive return on equity of 8.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.08 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that B2Gold will post 0.26 EPS for the current year.

B2Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were given a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. B2Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently -533.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on B2Gold from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com upgraded B2Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On B2Gold

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BTG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of B2Gold by 20.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,543,701 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $140,291,000 after purchasing an additional 8,177,437 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. lifted its position in shares of B2Gold by 99.1% during the fourth quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 6,382,409 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,177,274 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of B2Gold by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,915,669 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,402,000 after acquiring an additional 639,112 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 10.2% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,958,471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,330,000 after acquiring an additional 457,456 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of B2Gold by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 22,912,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,984 shares in the last quarter. 61.40% of the stock is owned by 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.