First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Stock Rating Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

AG has been the topic of a number of other reports. ATB Cormark Capital Markets raised First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of First Majestic Silver from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright cut their price target on shares of First Majestic Silver from $27.00 to $25.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

First Majestic Silver Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:AG opened at $15.97 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50 and a beta of 0.97. First Majestic Silver has a one year low of $10.19 and a one year high of $32.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.57. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.86.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The mining company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The business had revenue of $415.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. First Majestic Silver’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Majestic Silver will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.0152 dividend. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a negative change from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0171. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is 8.45%.

Institutional Trading of First Majestic Silver

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in First Majestic Silver during the second quarter worth about $3,515,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in First Majestic Silver in the first quarter worth about $2,593,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 127.6% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 182,238 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $3,905,000 after acquiring an additional 102,167 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,346,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver in the second quarter valued at approximately $59,610,000. 27.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Majestic Silver Company Profile

First Majestic Silver Corp. is a mining company focused on the exploration, development, and production of silver and gold. The company operates producing mines in Mexico and the United States and sells silver bullion and related products through its in-house First Mint division.

First Majestic’s Mexican operations include the San Dimas Silver/Gold Mine in Durango, the Santa Elena Silver/Gold Mine in Sonora, and the La Encantada Silver Mine in Coahuila. The company also owns the Jerritt Canyon Gold Mine in Nevada, although operations there have been suspended while First Majestic evaluates its future.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, First Majestic has historically concentrated its growth strategy on acquiring and developing precious-metals assets in the Americas.