First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) Short Interest Down 16.2% in March

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 22,420,000 shares, a decline of 16.2% from the February 28th total of 26,770,000 shares. Currently, 7.2% of the company’s 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.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

First Majestic Silver stock traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, reaching $6.68. 16,961,017 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,407,164. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. First Majestic Silver has a twelve month low of $4.43 and a twelve month high of $8.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $6.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.19. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of -19.09 and a beta of 1.16.

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

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.0057 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is -5.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AG. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in First Majestic Silver by 135.2% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,596,866 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $74,647,000 after acquiring an additional 7,816,177 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,423,691 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $62,784,000 after purchasing an additional 598,996 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,455,923 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $24,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,937 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 897.8% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,759,181 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $20,638,000 after buying an additional 3,382,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,472,159 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $19,060,000 after buying an additional 121,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AG has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Securities upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Majestic Silver presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

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.