First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Up 6.5% – Still a Buy?

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) shares traded up 6.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $15.06 and last traded at $15.30. 4,743,015 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 20,756,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on AG shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver from $9.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. National Bank Financial raised First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 5th. TD Securities upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cormark raised First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.33.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $7.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.68 and a beta of 0.84.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The mining company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). First Majestic Silver had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 7.07%.The company had revenue of $285.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $429.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.09) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 95.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.0052 dividend. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 92.0% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 21,538 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 10,318 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. bought a new position in First Majestic Silver in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $318,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in First Majestic Silver in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $344,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 15.0% during the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 23,071 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 3,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 24.2% in the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 197,041 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 38,406 shares during the period. 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.