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

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 13,026 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 279% compared to the average daily volume of 3,436 call options.

B2Gold Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BTG opened at $3.23 on Tuesday. B2Gold has a twelve month low of $2.20 and a twelve month high of $3.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $2.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.82. The company has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.73, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.09.

B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. B2Gold’s payout ratio is -16.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BTG. Bank of America lowered B2Gold from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Cormark upgraded shares of B2Gold from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. TD Securities lowered shares of B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, CIBC lowered their price objective on shares of B2Gold from $3.70 to $3.30 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.02.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. acquired a new position in shares of B2Gold in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in shares of B2Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in B2Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new stake in B2Gold during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. 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.