First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AG. Zacks Research lowered First Majestic Silver from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. HC Wainwright reduced their price target on First Majestic Silver from $30.75 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets raised First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded First Majestic Silver from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on First Majestic Silver from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

First Majestic Silver Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE AG opened at $16.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.54 and a current ratio of 2.73. First Majestic Silver has a 52-week low of $7.74 and a 52-week high of $32.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.87. The stock has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99 and a beta of 0.91.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The mining company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $476.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $522.00 million. First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 19.51% and a return on equity of 11.19%. First Majestic Silver’s revenue was up 95.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Majestic Silver will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a $0.0171 dividend. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is 11.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in First Majestic Silver by 77.4% during the first 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 during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 355.7% in the first 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 buying an additional 931,690 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 12.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 240,083 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after buying an additional 26,553 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 28,837 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 5,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,940 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 2,936 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

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.