First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Key Points

• First Majestic Silver Corp. shares experienced a significant price increase, gapping up from a previous close of $12.69 to an opening price of $13.31 before last trading at $13.59.
• Brokerage firm TD Securities upgraded First Majestic Silver from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, while National Bankshares set a new price target of $22.00, indicating a strong outlook for the company.
• The company reported $264.20 million in revenue during the last quarter, which was below analysts' expectations of $387.25 million, yet represents a 94.0% increase compared to the same quarter last year.

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $12.69, but opened at $13.31. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $13.59, with a volume of 7,436,053 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AG. TD Securities raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver from $12.75 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, National Bankshares set a $22.00 price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Majestic Silver has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.17.

First Majestic Silver Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,405.89 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.27 and a quick ratio of 2.84.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The mining company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $264.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.07) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 94.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $0.0048 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. First Majestic Silver's payout ratio is presently -200.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AG. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan purchased a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,656,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,070,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 74.2% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. increased its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 603.8% in the first quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 4,612,904 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $30,856,000 after buying an additional 3,957,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,051,614 shares in the last quarter. 27.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.