First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Down 10.8% After Earnings Miss

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s share price traded down 10.8% on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $10.19 and last traded at $10.3090. 11,088,098 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 21,208,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.56.

The mining company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). First Majestic Silver had a return on equity of 1.72% and a net margin of 1.78%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 95.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.09) earnings per share.

First Majestic Silver Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.0048 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is presently -100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in First Majestic Silver by 31.6% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 47,177 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 11,337 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in First Majestic Silver by 1,149.7% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,286 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 5,783 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in First Majestic Silver by 190.9% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 56,846 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 37,303 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in First Majestic Silver by 9.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 437,608 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $5,367,000 after buying an additional 37,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC boosted its position in First Majestic Silver by 24.6% in the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 42,720 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 8,445 shares in the last quarter. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,035.46 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.08.

About First Majestic Silver

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.