First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.25.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Majestic Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of First Majestic Silver from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Scotiabank upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of First Majestic Silver to $30.75 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th.

First Majestic Silver Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of First Majestic Silver stock opened at $17.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.54. First Majestic Silver has a 1 year low of $7.74 and a 1 year high of $32.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.60. The stock has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.39 and a beta of 0.86.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its 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). First Majestic Silver had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 19.51%.The business had revenue of $476.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $522.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 95.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that First Majestic Silver will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of First Majestic Silver

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sprott Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 51.8% during the third quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 2,036,679 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $24,974,000 after buying an additional 695,391 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 4.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,050,155 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $221,657,000 after buying an additional 739,315 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 108.7% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 7,203,207 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $88,527,000 after buying an additional 3,751,376 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver during the third quarter valued at about $1,045,000. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver during the third quarter valued at about $3,131,000. 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.