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

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 13,026 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 279% compared to the average daily volume of 3,436 call options.

B2Gold Trading Up 9.3 %

NYSE BTG traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $3.24. 52,448,154 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,249,839. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.81. B2Gold has a 1-year low of $2.20 and a 1-year high of $3.50. The firm has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.76, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. B2Gold’s payout ratio is currently -16.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BTG. Cormark upgraded B2Gold from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. CIBC decreased their price target on B2Gold from $3.70 to $3.30 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America cut B2Gold from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, TD Securities cut B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.02.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTG. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of B2Gold by 0.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 59,489,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,862,000 after acquiring an additional 438,399 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of B2Gold by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,010,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,204 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of B2Gold by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,186,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,335,000 after acquiring an additional 272,300 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of B2Gold by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,389,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,510,000 after acquiring an additional 130,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in B2Gold by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 22,658,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,436,000 after buying an additional 5,401,334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.40% of the company’s stock.

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.