Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Increases Stock Position in First Majestic Silver Corp. $AG

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its stake in First Majestic Silver Corp. by 313.0% during the first quarter, owning a total of 440,644 shares valued at approximately $2.94 million.
• First Majestic Silver reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the latest quarter, missing estimates, with revenue of $264.20 million compared to projections of $387.25 million.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.0048 per share, leading to an annualized yield of 0.2%, while the payout ratio stands at -100.00%.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec boosted its holdings in First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG - Free Report) TSE: FR by 313.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 440,644 shares of the mining company's stock after acquiring an additional 333,950 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec owned 0.09% of First Majestic Silver worth $2,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in First Majestic Silver by 26.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,475,305 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $96,768,000 after purchasing an additional 3,051,614 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 135.2% during the 4th 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. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan purchased a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,656,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver in the first quarter valued at about $46,070,000. Finally, Sprott Inc. boosted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 603.8% during the first quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 4,612,904 shares of the mining company's stock worth $30,856,000 after buying an additional 3,957,459 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AG has been the subject of several research reports. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on First Majestic Silver from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $12.75 price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Friday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.63.

First Majestic Silver Stock Up 10.3%

AG stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $10.40. The company had a trading volume of 43,273,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,265,348. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a current ratio of 3.27. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,038.96 and a beta of 0.78. First Majestic Silver Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $5.09 and a fifty-two week high of $10.40.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The mining company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.02). First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 1.72%. The firm had revenue of $264.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.25 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.07) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 94.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.0048 per share. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. First Majestic Silver's payout ratio is -100.00%.

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.