First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Key Points

• New 52-week high: First Majestic Silver hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading, trading as high as $27.23 and last at $27.4630 on volume of ~7.12M shares, up about 7.6%.
• Mixed analyst views: Several firms updated ratings (TD Securities upgraded to Buy; HC Wainwright raised its target to $24.50), but the MarketBeat consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $19.67 — below the current share price.
• Earnings and dividend: Q results missed estimates (EPS $0.07 vs $0.11 expected; revenue $285.1M vs $429.8M expected) despite revenue rising 95.3% year-over-year, and the company declared a small quarterly dividend of $0.0052 (annualized $0.02, ~0.1% yield).

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR's stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $27.23 and last traded at $27.4630, with a volume of 7118458 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AG. TD Securities upgraded First Majestic Silver from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Friday, January 16th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on First Majestic Silver from $17.50 to $24.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded First Majestic Silver from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Majestic Silver has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.67.

First Majestic Silver Stock Up 7.6%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $16.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.38 and a quick ratio of 2.96. The company has a market capitalization of $13.44 billion, a PE ratio of 194.98 and a beta of 0.77.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The mining company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). First Majestic Silver had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 7.07%.The business had revenue of $285.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $429.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.09) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 95.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.0052 dividend. This is an increase from First Majestic Silver's previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. First Majestic Silver's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AG. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 43,225,807 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $531,234,000 after buying an additional 10,471,543 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 74.2% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,666,756 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $112,880,000 after buying an additional 5,821,751 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,071,000. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 7,203,207 shares of the mining company's stock worth $88,527,000 after acquiring an additional 3,751,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,795,000. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Majestic Silver

First Majestic Silver Corp. NYSE: AG engages in the production of silver from its wholly owned operations in Mexico. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, the company focuses on acquiring, developing and operating high-grade silver projects. Established in 2002, First Majestic has built a multi-mine portfolio to supply silver primarily for the global industrial and investment markets while generating by-products such as gold, lead and zinc concentrates.

First Majestic’s principal operations are located in the historic Mexican Silver Belt, with producing mines including La Encantada in Coahuila, Santa Elena in Sonora and La Parrilla in Durango.

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