First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $22.17, but opened at $20.50. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $21.5290, with a volume of 2,675,805 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AG. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on First Majestic Silver to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver from $12.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of First Majestic Silver from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

First Majestic Silver Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.38 and a quick ratio of 2.96. The firm has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a PE ratio of 62.37 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.89.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $463.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.30 million. First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 13.12% and a return on equity of 7.41%. First Majestic Silver’s quarterly revenue was up 169.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.0083 dividend. This represents a $0.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. EFG International AG purchased a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 29,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 2,990 shares during the last quarter. 27.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.