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

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.96, but opened at $7.21. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $7.07, with a volume of 2,276,956 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AG shares. StockNews.com upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. TD Securities raised First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of First Majestic Silver from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Majestic Silver presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

First Majestic Silver Stock Up 0.2 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.13. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.93 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.12.

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

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.0057 per share. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. 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%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $74,647,000 after acquiring an additional 7,816,177 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $20,638,000 after purchasing an additional 3,382,443 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,455,923 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $24,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,937 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 115.3% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 1,520,359 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $8,347,000 after purchasing an additional 814,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 161.0% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 1,026,729 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $5,637,000 after buying an additional 633,413 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

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.