First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $25.17, but opened at $22.37. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $22.9190, with a volume of 6,158,133 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. National Bankshares set a $22.00 target price on First Majestic Silver and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver from $17.50 to $24.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Majestic Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Cormark raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of First Majestic Silver from $12.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Majestic Silver currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.17.

First Majestic Silver Trading Down 12.1%

The firm has a market cap of $10.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 158.37 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $17.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.38 and a quick ratio of 2.96.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. 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 net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 3.14%. The firm had revenue of $285.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $429.78 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.09) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 95.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Majestic Silver during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

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.