First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Up 9.3% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s stock price was up 9.3% on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $24.86 and last traded at $24.6980. Approximately 7,144,423 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 27,307,006 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.60.

The mining company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $463.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.30 million. First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 3.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 169.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.0083 per share. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is presently 14.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AG. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on First Majestic Silver from $17.50 to $24.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Cormark upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Majestic Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.17.

Institutional Trading of First Majestic Silver

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 49.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,552,733 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $25,869,000 after purchasing an additional 511,230 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Retirement LLC increased its position in First Majestic Silver by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Retirement LLC now owns 32,450 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the fourth quarter valued at $996,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the fourth quarter valued at $182,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 67.3% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,869,121 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $48,502,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,430 shares during the period. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Majestic Silver Stock Up 9.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 3.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.62. The firm has a market cap of $12.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 177.07 and a beta of 0.85.

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.