First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $7.30, but opened at $7.72. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $7.74, with a volume of 2,133,295 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cormark raised First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $8.50 target price on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Friday, October 18th.

First Majestic Silver Stock Up 4.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.53 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.00 and its 200 day moving average is $6.36.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The mining company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $136.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $129.74 million. First Majestic Silver had a negative net margin of 15.37% and a negative return on equity of 4.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. Research analysts predict that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post -0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.0046 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -6.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 31,876,555 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $187,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,710 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,451,621 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $61,456,000 after acquiring an additional 186,570 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 6,929.4% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,174,889 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $30,406,000 after acquiring an additional 5,101,271 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in First Majestic Silver by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,158,908 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $18,701,000 after acquiring an additional 103,232 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 0.8% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 774,530 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,585,000 after acquiring an additional 5,868 shares in the last quarter. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About First Majestic Silver

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties with a focus on silver and gold production in North America. Its projects include the San Dimas mine covering an area of approximately 71,867 hectares located in Durango State, Mexico; the Santa Elena that covers an area of approximately 102,244 hectares located in Sonora State, México; and the La Encantada covering an area of approximately 4,076 hectares located in Coahuila State, México.