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

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $5.68, but opened at $5.56. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $5.58, with a volume of 1,257,374 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AG. Cormark raised First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.50 target price on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

First Majestic Silver Stock Down 2.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.52 and a beta of 1.25. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $6.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.13.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The mining company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.12). First Majestic Silver had a negative return on equity of 4.19% and a negative net margin of 14.89%. The company had revenue of $146.09 million during the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.0048 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is -3.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 11.1% in the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 203,260 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 20,270 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 83,320 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 4,797 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 39.5% in the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,995 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 3,960 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver during the 2nd quarter valued at $325,000. Finally, Capital Management Associates Inc lifted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 73.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc now owns 26,000 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares during the last quarter. 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.