First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Up 5.4% – Here’s What Happened

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s share price was up 5.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $5.99 and last traded at $5.85. Approximately 1,470,398 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 10,436,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AG. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.93 and a beta of 1.16.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The mining company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $172.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.77 million. First Majestic Silver had a negative return on equity of 3.07% and a negative net margin of 18.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.0057 per share. 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 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is -5.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 135.2% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,596,866 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $74,647,000 after purchasing an additional 7,816,177 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,423,691 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $62,784,000 after purchasing an additional 598,996 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,455,923 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $24,463,000 after buying an additional 1,420,937 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 897.8% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,759,181 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $20,638,000 after buying an additional 3,382,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,472,159 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $19,060,000 after buying an additional 121,892 shares during the last quarter. 27.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Majestic Silver Company Profile

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.