Bank of Nova Scotia Invests $1.70 Million in First Majestic Silver Corp. $AG

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 100,257 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,701,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in First Majestic Silver by 77.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 604,186 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,042,000 after acquiring an additional 263,688 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 355.7% during the 1st 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 valued at $7,985,000 after acquiring an additional 931,690 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 240,083 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after acquiring an additional 26,553 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 28,837 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 5,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 12.8% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,940 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,936 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

First Majestic Silver Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of AG stock opened at $20.97 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.35. First Majestic Silver Corp. has a 12-month low of $8.72 and a 12-month high of $32.03. The firm has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.54 and a beta of 0.94.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The mining company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $415.50 million during 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%.First Majestic Silver’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.