B2Gold (TSE:BTO) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of B2Gold (TSE:BTO) (NYSE:BTG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. TD raised shares of B2Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from C$6.00 to C$8.50 in a research report on Monday. ATB Cormark Capital Markets raised shares of B2Gold from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from C$6.50 to C$11.00 in a report on Monday. Scotia raised shares of B2Gold from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a C$10.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, National Bank Financial decreased their target price on shares of B2Gold from C$10.70 to C$9.75 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, B2Gold currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of C$9.33.

B2Gold Price Performance

Shares of TSE BTO opened at C$7.04 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of C$9.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of -0.27 and a beta of 1.74. B2Gold has a twelve month low of C$4.81 and a twelve month high of C$8.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$5.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$6.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.48.

B2Gold (TSE:BTO) (NYSE:BTG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported C$0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$1.12 billion for the quarter. B2Gold had a net margin of 21.20% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, research analysts forecast that B2Gold will post 0.5596659 earnings per share for the current year.

B2Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. B2Gold’s payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at B2Gold

In related news, insider Peter Dominic Montano sold 61,254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$6.51, for a total value of C$398,763.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 456 shares in the company, valued at C$2,968.56. This trade represents a 99.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Randall Chatwin sold 67,857 shares of B2Gold stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$6.33, for a total value of C$429,534.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 130,043 shares in the company, valued at C$823,172.19. This represents a 34.29% decrease in their position. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 227,252 shares of company stock valued at $1,401,375. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

More B2Gold News

Here are the key news stories impacting B2Gold this week:

• Positive Sentiment: B2Gold received approval for the Fekola Regional exploitation permit in Mali. The authorization reduces regulatory uncertainty and supports the company’s plans to develop additional resources around its important Fekola complex. B2Gold up 22% as it receives green light for Mali
• Positive Sentiment: The Mali permit announcement helped make B2Gold one of the TSX’s top gainers, aided by strength in gold prices. Higher bullion prices can improve revenue, margins and cash flow for gold producers. B2Gold makes TSX top gainer as gold prices gain and Fekola permit is granted
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment strengthened materially. TD Securities raised B2Gold from “hold” to “buy” and increased its price target to C$8.50 from C$6.00, while Scotiabank upgraded the shares to “sector outperform” with a C$10.00 target. Analyst ratings from BayStreet
• Positive Sentiment: ATB Cormark upgraded B2Gold to “outperform” and lifted its target to C$11.00 from C$6.50. TD Securities and Scotiabank subsequently characterized the stock as a “strong buy,” reinforcing the bullish view on the permit and gold-price outlook. B2Gold analyst upgrades from Zacks
• Negative Sentiment: B2Gold’s permit win followed a reduction to production guidance, indicating that permitting delays or operating challenges could weigh on near-term output and earnings. Investors may continue to monitor execution at Fekola and the timing of regional development. B2Gold wins Mali permit after guidance cut

About B2Gold

B2Gold is a responsible international gold producer headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Founded in 2007, today, B2Gold has operating gold mines in Canada, Mali, Namibia and the Philippines, and numerous development and exploration projects in various countries.