First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Trading 7.1% Higher – What’s Next?

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) shares were up 7.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $20.71 and last traded at $20.6910. Approximately 5,583,446 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 25,671,088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AG shares. Zacks Research raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver from $12.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.01 and a 200-day moving average of $17.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.99 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.03. First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 13.12% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The firm had revenue of $463.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 169.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.0083 dividend. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 408.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 15,041,912 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $250,821,000 after acquiring an additional 12,081,688 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 32.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 43,225,807 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $531,234,000 after purchasing an additional 10,471,543 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 74.2% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,666,756 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $112,880,000 after purchasing an additional 5,821,751 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,071,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 108.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 7,203,207 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $88,527,000 after purchasing an additional 3,751,376 shares during the last quarter. 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.