First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Shares Gap Up to $6.70

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $6.70, but opened at $6.93. First Majestic Silver shares last traded at $7.00, with a volume of 1,938,340 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver from $7.00 to $8.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Majestic Silver to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

First Majestic Silver Stock Up 2.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $6.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.09 and a beta of 1.39.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The mining company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $136.95 million for the quarter. First Majestic Silver had a negative net margin of 23.55% and a negative return on equity of 1.85%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Majestic Silver Corp. will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.0048 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is -2.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 145.4% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 424,917 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after buying an additional 251,741 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 43.2% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 183,864 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,081,000 after buying an additional 55,453 shares in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver during the first quarter worth about $111,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 78,327 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 10,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 31,876,555 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $187,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,710 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.