First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.50, but opened at $22.93. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $22.2690, with a volume of 7,217,423 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AG shares. National Bank Financial raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. National Bankshares set a $22.00 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. TD Securities raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on First Majestic Silver from $9.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.67.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 160.24 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $15.86 and its 200-day moving average is $12.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a current ratio of 3.38.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The mining company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $285.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $429.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.09) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 95.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.0052 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. 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 dividend yield of 0.1%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AG. Capital Management Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver during the second quarter worth about $333,000. FORA Capital LLC grew its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 1,216.2% in the 2nd quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 340,695 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,818,000 after acquiring an additional 314,811 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in First Majestic Silver by 157.9% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,420,322 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $11,762,000 after buying an additional 869,697 shares during the period. DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in First Majestic Silver during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,615,000. Finally, Abbington Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,109,000. 27.16% of the stock is currently 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.