First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Trading 10.8% Higher - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares jumped 10.8% intraday to about $21.16 on Wednesday, though trading volume was sharply lower (~3.89M shares, down ~82% vs. the average).
• Analysts grew more bullish: HC Wainwright raised its target to $30, and the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $25.
• First Majestic reported Q4 EPS of $0.30 (beating estimates) while revenue of $463.9M missed forecasts despite a 169% year‑over‑year increase, and the company modestly raised its quarterly dividend.

Shares of First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR traded up 10.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $21.07 and last traded at $21.1560. 3,890,576 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 21,929,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of First Majestic Silver to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Majestic Silver from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research lowered shares of First Majestic Silver from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Scotiabank raised shares of First Majestic Silver to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Majestic Silver currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.00.

First Majestic Silver Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $10.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.49 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $22.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.14.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $463.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $561.30 million. First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 13.12% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 169.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.0083 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. First Majestic Silver's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. EFG International AG acquired a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.16% of the company's stock.

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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