First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $6.02, but opened at $6.31. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $6.33, with a volume of 2,504,516 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Securities raised First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.50.

First Majestic Silver Stock Up 4.2 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.17. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of -17.93 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.56.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last released 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 firm had revenue of $172.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.77 million. First Majestic Silver had a negative return on equity of 3.07% and a negative net margin of 18.17%. Equities research analysts predict that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.0057 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. This is an increase from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is -5.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver in the third quarter worth approximately $2,419,000. Realta Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 497,726 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,882,000 after acquiring an additional 71,456 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in First Majestic Silver by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 565,982 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $3,109,000 after purchasing an additional 18,219 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 21,500 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 4th quarter valued at $161,000. 27.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.