First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.96, but opened at $7.21. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $7.07, with a volume of 2,276,956 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Securities upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of First Majestic Silver from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Majestic Silver presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.50.

First Majestic Silver Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of -19.93 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.13.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The mining company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.02). First Majestic Silver had a negative return on equity of 3.07% and a negative net margin of 18.17%. The company had revenue of $172.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.77 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.0057 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -5.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in First Majestic Silver by 135.2% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,596,866 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $74,647,000 after purchasing an additional 7,816,177 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,423,691 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $62,784,000 after buying an additional 598,996 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,455,923 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $24,463,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,937 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in First Majestic Silver by 897.8% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,759,181 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $20,638,000 after acquiring an additional 3,382,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Majestic Silver by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,472,159 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $19,060,000 after acquiring an additional 121,892 shares during the last quarter. 27.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Majestic Silver Company Profile

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties with a focus on silver and gold production in North America. Its projects include the San Dimas mine covering an area of approximately 71,867 hectares located in Durango State, Mexico; the Santa Elena that covers an area of approximately 102,244 hectares located in Sonora State, México; and the La Encantada covering an area of approximately 4,076 hectares located in Coahuila State, México.