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

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $17.21, but opened at $17.77. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $17.0830, with a volume of 3,608,120 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AG. HC Wainwright set a $17.50 price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Friday, October 10th. TD Securities raised First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. National Bank Financial upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. National Bankshares set a $22.00 price objective on First Majestic Silver and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on First Majestic Silver from $9.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.33.

First Majestic Silver Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a current ratio of 3.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $13.82 and a 200-day moving average of $11.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.43 and a beta of 0.84.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The mining company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). First Majestic Silver had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 7.07%.The firm had revenue of $285.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $429.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.09) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 95.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.0052 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is 14.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new position in First Majestic Silver during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 29,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,990 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,114 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,860 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 33.2% during the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 3,898 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.