Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Stock Position in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 663,363 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,395 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned 0.05% of B2Gold worth $1,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cadence Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of B2Gold by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC now owns 237,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 7,990 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of B2Gold by 176.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 8,250 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 84,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 21,439 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,586,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,330,000 after acquiring an additional 15,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 5,288 shares in the last quarter. 61.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

B2Gold Stock Performance

NYSE:BTG opened at $3.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $2.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.83. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.50, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.09. B2Gold Corp. has a 1-year low of $2.20 and a 1-year high of $3.50.

B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. B2Gold’s payout ratio is currently -16.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BTG shares. Cormark upgraded shares of B2Gold from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Securities lowered shares of B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of B2Gold from $3.30 to $3.60 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. 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 given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.12.

B2Gold 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.