Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS) Reaches New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Pan American Silver shares reached a new 52-week high, trading at $37.59, which reflects an increase from the previous close of $36.68.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with one rating it a "Strong Buy" and four rating it a "Buy," while the average target price is set at $32.20.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.10 to $0.12 per share, indicating a positive outlook for returns to shareholders.

Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE:PAAS - Get Free Report) TSE: PAAS shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $37.59 and last traded at $37.53, with a volume of 1851557 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on PAAS shares. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Pan American Silver to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Pan American Silver from $36.50 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pan American Silver from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Pan American Silver from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, CIBC reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Pan American Silver in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pan American Silver presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.20.

Pan American Silver Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 3.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.65.

Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS - Get Free Report) TSE: PAAS last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. Pan American Silver had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 16.80%.The firm had revenue of $811.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.12 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The business's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Pan American Silver Corp. will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pan American Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a boost from Pan American Silver's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Pan American Silver's payout ratio is currently 33.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pan American Silver

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PAAS. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in shares of Pan American Silver during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Pan American Silver by 53.6% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,703 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Pan American Silver in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Kiker Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Pan American Silver by 42.4% in the 2nd quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Pan American Silver by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,264 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.43% of the company's stock.

About Pan American Silver

Pan American Silver Corp. engages in the exploration, mine development, extraction, processing, refining, and reclamation of silver, gold, zinc, lead, and copper mines in Canada, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. The company was formerly known as Pan American Minerals Corp. and changed its name to Pan American Silver Corp.

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