First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The mining company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.19, reports. The company had revenue of $394.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $390.00 million. First Majestic Silver had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 21.18%.

Here are the key takeaways from First Majestic Silver’s conference call:

• Q3 revenue rose 38% year over year to $394 million, while EBITDA increased 78% to $228 million. Silver production was 3.4 million ounces and gold production was 30,000 ounces; management said cash flows remained robust despite lower metal prices.
• First Majestic reported roughly $1.3 billion in liquidity, declared a record dividend and repurchased 1.3 million shares to date. The company is also making its largest-ever annual capital investment, according to management.
• Growth projects are advancing: Santa Elena’s plant expansion is progressing, Santo Niño development began earlier than expected, and Jerritt Canyon remains on track for its targeted restart milestones. Management said Jerritt’s hiring, underground development and equipment orders are progressing, though further guidance is forthcoming.
• A labor disruption at San Dimas caused 12 days of lost Q3 production and remained unresolved at the time of the call. The dispute centers on the company’s refusal to cover workers’ income taxes on bonuses.
• Management said progress is being made toward resolving the Mexican tax dispute and that the NAFTA arbitration was dropped, but any payments would follow a lengthy process and timing remains uncertain. AISC is also higher, partly because of lower cutoff grades and profit-linked employee payments; management said per-ton costs were stable and margins were expanding.

First Majestic Silver Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:AG traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $15.16. The stock had a trading volume of 11,628,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,689,074. First Majestic Silver has a 1 year low of $10.72 and a 1 year high of $32.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.63 and its 200-day moving average is $19.86.

First Majestic Silver Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.0142 per share. This is a drop from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0152. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on First Majestic Silver from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded First Majestic Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright dropped their price target on First Majestic Silver from $25.50 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.75.

About First Majestic Silver

First Majestic Silver Corp. is a mining company focused on the exploration, development, and production of silver and gold. The company operates producing mines in Mexico and the United States and sells silver bullion and related products through its in-house First Mint division.

First Majestic’s Mexican operations include the San Dimas Silver/Gold Mine in Durango, the Santa Elena Silver/Gold Mine in Sonora, and the La Encantada Silver Mine in Coahuila. The company also owns the Jerritt Canyon Gold Mine in Nevada, although operations there have been suspended while First Majestic evaluates its future.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, First Majestic has historically concentrated its growth strategy on acquiring and developing precious-metals assets in the Americas.