First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Trading Up 8.3% – Time to Buy?

Shares of First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) shot up 8.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $18.45 and last traded at $18.4580. 13,951,062 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 20,845,279 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank increased their price target on 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. TD Securities upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright set a $17.50 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Friday, October 10th. National Bank Financial raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.33.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.38 and a quick ratio of 2.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.65 and a 200-day moving average of $11.69. The company has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 127.77 and a beta of 0.77.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last announced 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 net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 3.14%. The firm had revenue of $285.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $429.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 95.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in First Majestic Silver during the 1st quarter valued at $82,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 77.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 604,186 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,042,000 after purchasing an additional 263,688 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 1.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,479,022 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $9,525,000 after purchasing an additional 14,163 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 66.4% during the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 100,855 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 40,228 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 355.7% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 931,690 shares during the last quarter. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.