First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Up 8.5% – Still a Buy?

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) shares were up 8.5% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $17.22 and last traded at $17.1440. Approximately 4,298,687 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 18,977,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on First Majestic Silver to $30.75 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings cut First Majestic Silver from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research cut First Majestic Silver from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Majestic Silver presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.25.

First Majestic Silver Stock Up 9.5%

The company has a market cap of $8.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.92.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The mining company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.02). First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 19.51% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The business had revenue of $476.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $522.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 95.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.0171 per share. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is 11.67%.

Institutional Trading of First Majestic Silver

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AG. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in First Majestic Silver during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. EFG International AG acquired a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 184.5% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,508 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

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.