First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.48, but opened at $19.80. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $20.1590, with a volume of 3,035,073 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages 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. HC Wainwright boosted 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 note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut First Majestic Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded First Majestic Silver from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on First Majestic Silver from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.83.

First Majestic Silver Stock Up 1.8%

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 2.38.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued 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 business had revenue of $415.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 57.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.0152 per share. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is currently 8.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EFG International AG bought a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in First Majestic Silver by 184.5% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,508 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in First Majestic Silver by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the period. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new position in First Majestic Silver during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 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.