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

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.50, but opened at $22.93. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $22.2690, with a volume of 7,217,423 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AG. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. National Bank Financial upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. Scotiabank raised their target price on First Majestic Silver from $9.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Friday. Finally, National Bankshares set a $22.00 target price on First Majestic Silver and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.67.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.34. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 160.24 and a beta of 0.77.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The mining company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $285.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $429.78 million. First Majestic Silver had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 7.07%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 95.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.0052 dividend. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is 14.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AG. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in First Majestic Silver by 77.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 604,186 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,042,000 after purchasing an additional 263,688 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in First Majestic Silver by 355.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,193,589 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $7,985,000 after purchasing an additional 931,690 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,703 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 130,021 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 10,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in First Majestic Silver during the second quarter worth about $66,000. 27.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Majestic Silver

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.