First Quantum Minerals (TSE:FM) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (TSE:FM) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$23.28 and last traded at C$22.65, with a volume of 2685914 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$22.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Securities boosted their price target on First Quantum Minerals from C$19.00 to C$20.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of First Quantum Minerals from C$23.00 to C$22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of First Quantum Minerals from C$23.00 to C$24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Canada upgraded shares of First Quantum Minerals to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of First Quantum Minerals from C$20.20 to C$22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$21.57.

First Quantum Minerals Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 56.41. The firm has a market capitalization of C$11.89 billion, a PE ratio of -7.74, a PEG ratio of -1.28 and a beta of 1.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is C$19.22 and its 200 day moving average price is C$18.64.

First Quantum Minerals (TSE:FM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported C$0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.03 by C$0.01. First Quantum Minerals had a negative return on equity of 14.05% and a negative net margin of 32.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.37) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Quantum Minerals Ltd. will post 0.55872 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Simon John Scott purchased 1,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$18.57 per share, for a total transaction of C$25,942.29. Also, Senior Officer Zenon Wozniak sold 40,000 shares of First Quantum Minerals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$21.11, for a total value of C$844,400.00. 19.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Quantum Minerals Company Profile

First Quantum Minerals Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties. It primarily explores for copper, nickel, pyrite, silver, gold, and zinc ores, as well as produces acid. The company has operating mines located in Zambia, Panama, Finland, Turkey, Spain, Australia, and Mauritania, as well as a development project in Zambia.