B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) Trading 7% Higher – Should You Buy?

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG)’s stock price shot up 7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $2.85 and last traded at $2.85. 10,252,576 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 27,136,373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BTG. TD Securities lowered shares of B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. CIBC lowered their target price on shares of B2Gold from $3.70 to $3.30 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of B2Gold from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.02.

B2Gold Stock Up 6.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of -5.08, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $2.50 and its 200 day moving average price 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.

Institutional Trading of B2Gold

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in B2Gold by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 166,079,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $566,312,000 after acquiring an additional 47,967,010 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of B2Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,192,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of B2Gold by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 17,875,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,058,000 after buying an additional 7,165,600 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of B2Gold by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 22,658,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,436,000 after buying an additional 5,401,334 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.40% of the company’s stock.

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.