First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $6.34, but opened at $6.65. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $6.68, with a volume of 2,306,565 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Cormark raised First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.50 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

First Majestic Silver Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 2.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.59 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $6.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.34.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The mining company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $146.09 million for the quarter. First Majestic Silver had a negative return on equity of 4.19% and a negative net margin of 14.89%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post -0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.0048 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is presently -7.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in First Majestic Silver by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,451,621 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $61,456,000 after acquiring an additional 186,570 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,904,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,373,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 3.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,158,908 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $18,701,000 after acquiring an additional 103,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 17.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 558,096 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $3,349,000 after acquiring an additional 83,867 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

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.