Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on B2Gold (NYSE:BTG)

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 13,026 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 279% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,436 call options.

B2Gold Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE BTG opened at $3.28 on Wednesday. B2Gold has a twelve month low of $2.20 and a twelve month high of $3.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $2.61 and its 200-day moving average is $2.82. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.09.

B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. B2Gold’s payout ratio is presently -16.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cormark raised shares of B2Gold from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. CIBC dropped their price target on shares of B2Gold from $3.70 to $3.30 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Securities lowered shares of B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of B2Gold from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.02.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On B2Gold

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTG. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in B2Gold by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in B2Gold by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 5,288 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in B2Gold by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC now owns 237,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 7,990 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in B2Gold by 176.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 8,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in B2Gold by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 44,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 9,200 shares in the last quarter. 61.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.