First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Down 7.8% After Earnings Miss

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s share price traded down 7.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $5.77 and last traded at $5.77. 5,532,895 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 12,392,682 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.26.

The mining company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). First Majestic Silver had a negative return on equity of 3.07% and a negative net margin of 18.17%. The firm had revenue of $241.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $358.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.05) earnings per share. First Majestic Silver’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.0057 dividend. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -5.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AG shares. TD Securities raised shares of First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com raised First Majestic Silver from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. National Bankshares reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of First Majestic Silver from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Majestic Silver has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in First Majestic Silver by 118.3% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 12,063 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 6,538 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 24.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 707,040 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,726,000 after purchasing an additional 141,058 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 26.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,475,305 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $96,768,000 after buying an additional 3,051,614 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in First Majestic Silver by 40.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,508 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 4,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in First Majestic Silver in the 1st quarter worth about $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

First Majestic Silver Trading Up 7.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of -16.86 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.13.

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.