HC Wainwright Issues Positive Forecast for First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Stock Price

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) had its target price lifted by HC Wainwright from $26.00 to $27.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a buy rating on the mining company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on AG. Weiss Ratings lowered First Majestic Silver from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered First Majestic Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on First Majestic Silver from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Majestic Silver currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.83.

First Majestic Silver Trading Down 4.3%

NYSE AG opened at $15.02 on Friday. First Majestic Silver has a 52 week low of $7.74 and a 52 week high of $32.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.54, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $7.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16 and a beta of 0.91.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The mining company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.04). First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 13.58%. The firm had revenue of $415.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. First Majestic Silver’s revenue was up 57.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Majestic Silver will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.0152 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 14.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,014,859 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $258,273,000 after buying an additional 2,581,023 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in First Majestic Silver by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,995,222 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $316,914,000 after acquiring an additional 945,067 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in First Majestic Silver by 408.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 15,041,912 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $250,821,000 after acquiring an additional 12,081,688 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in First Majestic Silver by 33.6% during the 4th 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. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in First Majestic Silver by 92.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,082,824 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $130,659,000 after acquiring an additional 2,919,008 shares during the period. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Majestic Silver News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting First Majestic Silver this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised its price target to $27 from $26 and reiterated a “buy” rating, implying substantial upside from recent levels. HC Wainwright price target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with the average price target reported at $23.50 and Seeking Alpha upgrading the stock to Buy, citing a discount to estimated intrinsic value and potential for a silver-price re-rating. Analyst average price target
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter free cash flow reached $194.6 million, while EBITDA rose 110% to $252 million. The company also reported a $1.09 billion cash position in one analysis, or approximately $1.3 billion including its broader treasury, strengthening its ability to fund reinvestment, acquisitions and other growth initiatives. First Majestic second-quarter free cash flow
• Neutral Sentiment: First Majestic declared a quarterly dividend of $0.0152 per share, payable August 31 to shareholders of record August 14. The payout provides income support, although its annualized yield is modest at about 0.4%.
• Negative Sentiment: Reported second-quarter EPS of $0.21 missed the $0.25 consensus estimate, while revenue of $415.5 million came in below the $496 million forecast. Although revenue increased 57.3% year over year, the shortfall may be driving near-term selling pressure. First Majestic earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings call highlighted labor disruptions, higher costs and inventory accumulation caused by silver-price volatility, creating execution and margin risks despite record revenue and strong profitability.

First Majestic Silver Company Profile

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.