First Quantum Minerals Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties. It primarily explores for copper, nickel, pyrite, gold, silver, and zinc ores, as well as produces acid. The company has operating mines located in Zambia, Panama, Finland, Turkey, Spain, Australia, and Mauritania, as well as a development project in Zambia. It is exploring the Taca Taca copper-gold-molybdenum project in Argentina, as well as the Haquira copper deposit in Peru. The company was formerly known as First Quantum Ventures Ltd. and changed its name to First Quantum Minerals Ltd. in July 1996. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on First Quantum Minerals from C$34.00 to C$32.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 28th. CIBC dropped their price target on First Quantum Minerals from C$34.00 to C$28.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 2nd. Scotiabank dropped their price target on First Quantum Minerals from C$35.00 to C$33.00 in a report on Thursday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on First Quantum Minerals to C$34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 23rd. Finally, Barclays upgraded First Quantum Minerals from an "underperform" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from C$27.00 to C$20.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$34.33.
First Quantum Minerals Stock Up 3.7 %
Shares of FM opened at C$24.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of C$17.16 billion and a PE ratio of 9.96. First Quantum Minerals has a 12 month low of C$18.67 and a 12 month high of C$45.38. The stock's 50-day moving average price is C$24.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$32.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 68.45.
First Quantum Minerals (TSE:FM - Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 26th. The company reported C$0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.70 by C($0.07). The firm had revenue of C$2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$2.43 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that First Quantum Minerals will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.
First Quantum Minerals Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 29th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 26th. This represents a yield of 0.68%. This is an increase from First Quantum Minerals's previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.01. First Quantum Minerals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 0.31%.