Short Interest in First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) Drops By 16.2%

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 22,420,000 shares, a decrease of 16.2% from the February 28th total of 26,770,000 shares. Approximately 7.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 18,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AG. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.50.

First Majestic Silver Price Performance

NYSE:AG traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $6.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,047,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,418,192. First Majestic Silver has a twelve month low of $4.43 and a twelve month high of $8.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.23 and a beta of 1.16.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The mining company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $172.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.77 million. First Majestic Silver had a negative net margin of 18.17% and a negative return on equity of 3.07%. On average, analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.0057 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is -5.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AG. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 23,240 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 6.7% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 29,404 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 1,855 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 370,255 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after buying an additional 2,288 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 56,852 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 2,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in First Majestic Silver by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 17,100 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the period. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.