Wall Street Zen Upgrades First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) to "Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded First Majestic Silver from “hold” to “buy,” adding to a generally positive analyst tone around the stock. The current consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with a $23.67 price target.
• Despite the upgrade, AG shares fell 1.0% to $16.99 in midday trading Friday, below both its 50-day moving average of $18.92 and 200-day moving average of $20.90.
• The company recently missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.31 EPS versus $0.33 expected and revenue of $476.67 million versus $522 million expected, though revenue still rose 95.3% year over year.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on AG. HC Wainwright cut their target price on First Majestic Silver from $30.75 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised First Majestic Silver from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of First Majestic Silver from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of First Majestic Silver from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, ATB Cormark Capital Markets upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.67.

First Majestic Silver Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of AG traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.99. 8,442,059 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,635,216. First Majestic Silver has a 52-week low of $7.74 and a 52-week high of $32.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.90. The firm has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.54 and a current ratio of 2.73.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The mining company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.02). First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 19.51% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The business had revenue of $476.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $522.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 95.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver will post 0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AG. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,014,859 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $258,273,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581,023 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,995,222 shares of the mining company's stock worth $316,914,000 after buying an additional 945,067 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,932,368 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $232,539,000 after buying an additional 5,265,612 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 408.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 15,041,912 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $250,821,000 after buying an additional 12,081,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 9,621,720 shares of the mining company's stock worth $160,298,000 after acquiring an additional 2,418,513 shares during the period. 27.16% of the stock is 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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