Short Interest in Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE:PAAS) Rises By 27.8%

Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE:PAAS - Get Free Report) TSE: PAAS was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,800,000 shares, a growth of 27.8% from the April 30th total of 7,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Pan American Silver from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pan American Silver from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Pan American Silver from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Pan American Silver from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, National Bankshares reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Pan American Silver in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pan American Silver presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.60.

Pan American Silver Stock Performance

PAAS stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $28.64. The company had a trading volume of 10,886,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,871,727. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.76. The company has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.50 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.50. Pan American Silver has a twelve month low of $17.86 and a twelve month high of $29.22.

Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS - Get Free Report) TSE: PAAS last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $773.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $696.62 million. Pan American Silver had a net margin of 3.98% and a return on equity of 6.14%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pan American Silver will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Pan American Silver Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. Pan American Silver's payout ratio is presently 45.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pan American Silver

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Pan American Silver by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 46,824 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $947,000 after purchasing an additional 8,862 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pan American Silver by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 69,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 7,911 shares during the period. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Pan American Silver by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd now owns 29,925 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 3,669 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pan American Silver during the fourth quarter worth $735,000. Finally, Triasima Portfolio Management inc. acquired a new stake in Pan American Silver in the fourth quarter valued at $2,911,000. 55.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pan American Silver Company Profile

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.