First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Upgraded to Moderate Buy by Cormark

Cormark upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

AG has been the subject of several other research reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $8.50 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of First Majestic Silver from $5.50 to $6.50 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Majestic Silver has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $7.50.

First Majestic Silver Price Performance

AG opened at $4.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 3.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.90 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.18. First Majestic Silver has a 52-week low of $4.17 and a 52-week high of $8.44.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The mining company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $136.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $129.74 million. First Majestic Silver had a negative net margin of 15.37% and a negative return on equity of 4.39%. First Majestic Silver’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.02) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that First Majestic Silver will post -0.11 EPS for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.0046 per share. 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 0.40%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is currently -12.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AG. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in First Majestic Silver by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 711,461 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,255,000 after buying an additional 39,365 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in First Majestic Silver by 108.7% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 444,848 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,736,000 after buying an additional 231,690 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in First Majestic Silver by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 178,151 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,096,000 after buying an additional 3,069 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the fourth quarter worth $118,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in First Majestic Silver by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 757,732 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,672,000 after buying an additional 14,848 shares during the last quarter. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.