First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Up 6.1% After Dividend Announcement

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s stock price shot up 6.1% during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $5.79 and last traded at $5.70. 5,855,152 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 17,622,150 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.37.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.0057 dividend. This is a positive change from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is presently -5.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AG. Scotiabank lowered their price target on First Majestic Silver from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Friday.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 2.45. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of -15.84 and a beta of 1.24.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The mining company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.02). First Majestic Silver had a negative net margin of 18.17% and a negative return on equity of 3.06%. The business had revenue of $172.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.77 million. Research analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First Majestic Silver

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 3rd quarter valued at $72,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in First Majestic Silver by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,166 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,253 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in First Majestic Silver by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 558,096 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $3,349,000 after purchasing an additional 83,867 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 136.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 33,090 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 19,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 3rd quarter valued at about $295,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

About First Majestic Silver

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.