First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.01 Per Share

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG – Get Rating) (TSE:FR) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 5th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.0061 per share by the mining company on Wednesday, August 31st. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 15th. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.006.

First Majestic Silver has a dividend payout ratio of 4.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First Majestic Silver to earn $0.70 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.02 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 2.9%.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AG opened at $8.05 on Friday. First Majestic Silver has a 12-month low of $6.31 and a 12-month high of $14.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $7.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.11.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG – Get Rating) (TSE:FR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 12th. The mining company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $156.84 million during the quarter. First Majestic Silver had a negative net margin of 15.35% and a negative return on equity of 1.83%. Research analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reduced their price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver from $19.50 to $12.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 25th. TD Securities cut their price target on shares of First Majestic Silver from C$20.00 to C$12.00 in a research note on Friday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver from C$10.00 to C$9.50 in a research report on Monday, July 25th. TheStreet lowered shares of First Majestic Silver from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Friday, April 22nd. Finally, National Bank Financial dropped their price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver from C$18.00 to C$11.75 in a research report on Thursday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.44.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,268,464 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $95,654,000 after acquiring an additional 205,369 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 127.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,322,713 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $17,408,000 after acquiring an additional 740,867 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 118.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,006,551 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $13,246,000 after acquiring an additional 546,230 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 50.3% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 362,626 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $4,773,000 after acquiring an additional 121,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 208,268 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,745,000 after acquiring an additional 48,995 shares during the last quarter. 39.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Majestic Silver

(Get Rating)

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. It holds 100% interests in the San Dimas Silver/Gold Mine covering an area of 71,868 hectares located in Durango and Sinaloa states; the Santa Elena Silver/Gold Mine covering an area of 102,244 hectares located in Sonora; Jerritt Canyon gold mine that covers an area of approximately of 30,821 hectares located in Elko County, Nevada; and the La Encantada Silver Mine covering an area of 4,076 hectares situated in Coahuila, as well as surface land ownership of 1,343 hectares.