Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE:PAAS) (TSE:PAAS)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $27.46, but opened at $28.34. Pan American Silver shares last traded at $27.95, with a volume of 3,438,764 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PAAS. National Bankshares reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Pan American Silver in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Pan American Silver from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Pan American Silver in a report on Monday. TD Securities lowered Pan American Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $28.00 to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Pan American Silver in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pan American Silver presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.50.

Pan American Silver Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $24.99 and its 200 day moving average is $23.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.50. The stock has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.00 and a beta of 1.06.

Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS) (TSE:PAAS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.35. Pan American Silver had a return on equity of 6.14% and a net margin of 3.98%. The company had revenue of $815.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $805.20 million. Analysts anticipate that Pan American Silver Corp. will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Pan American Silver Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Pan American Silver’s payout ratio is currently 125.00%.

Institutional Trading of Pan American Silver

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pan American Silver by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,008,185 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $283,385,000 after purchasing an additional 221,561 shares during the period. FIL Ltd increased its stake in shares of Pan American Silver by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 13,388,644 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $270,848,000 after acquiring an additional 584,017 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Pan American Silver during the fourth quarter valued at $91,916,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Pan American Silver by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,146,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,658,000 after purchasing an additional 486,622 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pan American Silver by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,027,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,776,000 after buying an additional 494,133 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.43% of the company’s stock.

Pan American Silver Company Profile

Pan American Silver Corp. engages in the exploration, mine development, extraction, processing, refining, and reclamation of silver, gold, zinc, lead, and copper mines in Canada, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. The company was formerly known as Pan American Minerals Corp. and changed its name to Pan American Silver Corp.