Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE:PAAS) (TSE:PAAS) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $27.46, but opened at $28.34. Pan American Silver shares last traded at $27.95, with a volume of 3,438,764 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PAAS. TD Securities downgraded shares of Pan American Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pan American Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Pan American Silver in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Pan American Silver from $28.50 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, National Bankshares reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Pan American Silver in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pan American Silver currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.50.

Pan American Silver Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.16. The stock has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.47 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.50.

Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS) (TSE:PAAS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35. The business had revenue of $815.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $805.20 million. Pan American Silver had a net margin of 3.98% and a return on equity of 6.14%. On average, research analysts predict that Pan American Silver Corp. will post 1.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pan American Silver Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Pan American Silver’s payout ratio is 125.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pan American Silver

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Pan American Silver during the 4th quarter worth approximately $91,916,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Pan American Silver in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,083,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Pan American Silver by 661.2% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,307,617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135,839 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Pan American Silver by 110.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,498,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,295,000 after purchasing an additional 784,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc raised its stake in shares of Pan American Silver by 381.7% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 947,560 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,160,000 after purchasing an additional 750,858 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.43% of the company’s stock.

Pan American Silver Company Profile

Pan American Silver Corp. engages in the exploration, mine development, extraction, processing, refining, and reclamation of silver, gold, zinc, lead, and copper mines in Canada, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. The company was formerly known as Pan American Minerals Corp. and changed its name to Pan American Silver Corp.