First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $7.92, but opened at $7.67. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $7.74, with a volume of 1,331,219 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AG has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $8.50 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Cormark raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th.

First Majestic Silver Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $6.09 and a 200 day moving average of $6.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of -48.84 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 3.05 and a quick ratio of 2.44.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The mining company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $136.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $129.74 million. First Majestic Silver had a negative return on equity of 4.39% and a negative net margin of 15.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.02) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.0046 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -6.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,451,621 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $61,456,000 after buying an additional 186,570 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in First Majestic Silver during the second quarter worth $3,904,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in First Majestic Silver during the first quarter worth $1,373,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 3.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,158,908 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $18,701,000 after purchasing an additional 103,232 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in First Majestic Silver by 145.4% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 424,917 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 251,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

First Majestic Silver Company Profile

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties with a focus on silver and gold production in North America. Its projects include the San Dimas mine covering an area of approximately 71,867 hectares located in Durango State, Mexico; the Santa Elena that covers an area of approximately 102,244 hectares located in Sonora State, México; and the La Encantada covering an area of approximately 4,076 hectares located in Coahuila State, México.