First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $20.35, but opened at $18.25. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $18.6320, with a volume of 10,446,588 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on First Majestic Silver from $12.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price objective on First Majestic Silver to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.00.

First Majestic Silver Trading Down 8.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 3.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a PE ratio of 53.58 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $24.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.06.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.03. First Majestic Silver had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 13.12%.The company had revenue of $463.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. First Majestic Silver’s revenue was up 169.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $0.0083 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a positive change from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is 8.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 77.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 604,186 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,042,000 after buying an additional 263,688 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 355.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,193,589 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $7,985,000 after acquiring an additional 931,690 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 240,083 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 26,553 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 25.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 28,837 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 5,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 1,406.5% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 473,288 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $3,946,000 after purchasing an additional 441,872 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

First Majestic Silver Company Profile

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.