Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New Investment in First Majestic Silver Corp. $AG

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 62,210 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,995,222 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $316,914,000 after acquiring an additional 945,067 shares in the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co raised its stake in First Majestic Silver by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co now owns 238,500 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $3,986,000 after buying an additional 80,000 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the 1st quarter valued at $2,593,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the 4th quarter valued at $45,898,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in First Majestic Silver by 127.6% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 182,238 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $3,905,000 after purchasing an additional 102,167 shares in the last quarter. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AG. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of First Majestic Silver from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on First Majestic Silver from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.83.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

Shares of AG stock opened at $21.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.50 and a 200-day moving average of $20.34. First Majestic Silver Corp. has a one year low of $8.72 and a one year high of $32.03. The company has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.91 and a beta of 0.94.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The mining company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $415.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $496.00 million. First Majestic Silver had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 21.18%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.0152 dividend. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is presently 8.45%.

First Majestic Silver 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.