First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.50.

Several research firms recently commented on AG. Scotiabank lowered their target price on First Majestic Silver from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered First Majestic Silver from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of First Majestic Silver from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st.

First Majestic Silver Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:AG opened at $16.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.54. First Majestic Silver has a 12-month low of $7.74 and a 12-month high of $32.03.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The mining company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.02). First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 19.51% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The company had revenue of $476.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $522.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.05 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 95.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that First Majestic Silver will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.0171 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This is an increase from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AG. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. EFG International AG acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in First Majestic Silver by 184.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,508 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.