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

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $19.86, but opened at $20.48. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $20.9960, with a volume of 1,691,435 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AG. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Majestic Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of First Majestic Silver from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of First Majestic Silver from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.83.

First Majestic Silver Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.27. The company has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.46 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.57.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The mining company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The firm had revenue of $415.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 57.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.0152 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.45%.

Institutional Trading of First Majestic Silver

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in First Majestic Silver by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,995,222 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $316,914,000 after buying an additional 945,067 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in First Majestic Silver during the 1st quarter valued at $2,593,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 127.6% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 182,238 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $3,905,000 after acquiring an additional 102,167 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 226.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 105,943 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,765,000 after acquiring an additional 73,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 18,702.6% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 58,476 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $974,000 after acquiring an additional 58,165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

First Majestic Silver Company Profile

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.