First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Stock Price Up 5.9% – Here’s Why

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s share price shot up 5.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $31.20 and last traded at $31.15. 25,504,818 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 28,186,496 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AG. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of First Majestic Silver to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Cormark raised First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of First Majestic Silver from $12.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Majestic Silver presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

First Majestic Silver Trading Up 3.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $15.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.50 and a beta of 0.85. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.50.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.03. First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 13.12% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The business had revenue of $463.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $561.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 169.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.0083 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. This is an increase from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,552,733 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $25,869,000 after buying an additional 511,230 shares during the period. Wealthspire Retirement LLC grew its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Retirement LLC now owns 32,450 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $996,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver during the fourth quarter valued at $182,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 67.3% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,869,121 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $48,502,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,430 shares during the last quarter. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by 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.