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

Shares of First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.3333.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of First Majestic Silver from $9.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Cormark raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. 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, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

Institutional Trading of First Majestic Silver

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,475,305 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $96,768,000 after buying an additional 3,051,614 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in First Majestic Silver by 24.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 707,040 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $4,726,000 after acquiring an additional 141,058 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in First Majestic Silver by 33.3% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 793,780 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $5,310,000 after acquiring an additional 198,080 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 29.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 112,189 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 25,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver during the first quarter worth about $2,310,000. Institutional investors own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

First Majestic Silver Trading Down 5.2%

First Majestic Silver stock opened at $15.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.46. First Majestic Silver has a 12-month low of $5.09 and a 12-month high of $17.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a PE ratio of 113.81 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.38 and a quick ratio of 2.96.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The mining company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.04). First Majestic Silver had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 7.07%.The business had revenue of $285.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $429.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.09) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 95.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.0052 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is presently 14.29%.

First Majestic Silver Company Profile

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties with a focus on silver and gold production in North America. Its projects include the San Dimas mine covering an area of approximately 71,867 hectares located in Durango State, Mexico; the Santa Elena that covers an area of approximately 102,244 hectares located in Sonora State, México; and the La Encantada covering an area of approximately 4,076 hectares located in Coahuila State, México.