First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) Receives $17.33 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.3333.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. National Bankshares set a $22.00 target price on First Majestic Silver and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. HC Wainwright set a $17.50 target price on First Majestic Silver in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

Shares of First Majestic Silver stock opened at $18.92 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 135.14 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 3.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. First Majestic Silver has a 52 week low of $5.09 and a 52 week high of $18.98.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The mining company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $285.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $429.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 95.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.0052 per share. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is presently 14.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 194.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 131,267 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after buying an additional 86,715 shares during the period. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,514,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its position in First Majestic Silver by 891.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 244,740 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 220,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 92.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 21,538 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 10,318 shares during the period. 27.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.