First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.3333.

AG has been the topic of several research reports. National Bank Financial raised First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research 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 report on Monday, October 6th. Cormark upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. HC Wainwright set a $17.50 price objective on First Majestic Silver in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

First Majestic Silver Trading Down 5.2%

First Majestic Silver stock opened at $15.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.81 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $13.30 and a 200-day moving average of $10.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.38 and a quick ratio of 2.96. First Majestic Silver has a one year low of $5.09 and a one year high of $17.37.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The mining company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 3.14%. The company had revenue of $285.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $429.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 95.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.0052 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This is a positive change from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is 14.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its position in First Majestic Silver by 66.4% in the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 100,855 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 40,228 shares during the last quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 1,978.6% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 213,843 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 203,555 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 157.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,420,322 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $11,762,000 after purchasing an additional 869,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DJE Kapital AG purchased a new stake in First Majestic Silver during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,615,000. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Majestic Silver

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.