First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $19.83, but opened at $19.17. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $19.7320, with a volume of 6,525,062 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AG. Wall Street Zen downgraded First Majestic Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of First Majestic Silver from $9.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.67.

First Majestic Silver Stock Up 5.8%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $15.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.19. The stock has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 153.64 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 3.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The mining company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 3.14%. The business had revenue of $285.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $429.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.09) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 95.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.0052 per share. This is a positive change from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AG. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 77.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 604,186 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $4,042,000 after acquiring an additional 263,688 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 355.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,193,589 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $7,985,000 after purchasing an additional 931,690 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,703 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 130,021 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 10,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver during the 2nd quarter worth $66,000. 27.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Majestic Silver

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) engages in the production of silver from its wholly owned operations in Mexico. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, the company focuses on acquiring, developing and operating high-grade silver projects. Established in 2002, First Majestic has built a multi-mine portfolio to supply silver primarily for the global industrial and investment markets while generating by-products such as gold, lead and zinc concentrates.

First Majestic’s principal operations are located in the historic Mexican Silver Belt, with producing mines including La Encantada in Coahuila, Santa Elena in Sonora and La Parrilla in Durango.