First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) Short Interest Down 20.4% in April

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,090,000 shares, a drop of 20.4% from the March 31st total of 22,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 20,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 5.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC purchased a new position in First Majestic Silver during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,419,000. Realta Investment Advisors increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 71,456 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 565,982 shares of the mining company's stock worth $3,109,000 after buying an additional 18,219 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 30.3% during the fourth 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 bought a new position in First Majestic Silver in the 4th quarter worth about $161,000. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Majestic Silver Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AG opened at $5.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.81 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 has a fifty-two week low of $4.43 and a fifty-two week high of $8.09. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $6.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.18.

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

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.0057 dividend. This is a positive change from First Majestic Silver's previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. First Majestic Silver's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -5.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised First Majestic Silver from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. 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. TD Securities upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Majestic Silver currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.50.

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.

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