First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Gap Up to $6.70

Shares of First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $6.70, but opened at $6.93. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $7.00, with a volume of 1,938,340 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AG. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of First Majestic Silver from $7.00 to $8.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised First Majestic Silver to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th.

First Majestic Silver Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $6.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.61. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.79 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The mining company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. First Majestic Silver had a negative net margin of 23.55% and a negative return on equity of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $136.95 million for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.07) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post -0.01 EPS for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.0048 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is currently -4.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 5.8% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 51,806 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,852 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 178,151 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,096,000 after buying an additional 3,069 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 71,753 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 3,924 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 787,862 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,838,000 after buying an additional 4,257 shares during the period. Finally, AXQ Capital LP increased its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 63.2% in the third quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 17,300 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 6,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

About First Majestic Silver

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties with a focus on silver and gold production in North America. Its projects include the San Dimas mine covering an area of approximately 71,867 hectares located in Durango State, Mexico; the Santa Elena that covers an area of approximately 102,244 hectares located in Sonora State, México; and the La Encantada covering an area of approximately 4,076 hectares located in Coahuila State, México.