Agnico-Eagle Mines Stock Downgraded (AEM)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to sell. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its feeble growth in its earnings per share, deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity and generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• AGNICO EAGLE MINES LTD has exprienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. The company has reported a trend of declining earnings per share over the past two years. During the past fiscal year, AGNICO EAGLE MINES LTD swung to a loss, reporting -$3.35 versus $1.99 in the prior year.
• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Metals & Mining industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 783.7% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $87.96 million to -$601.37 million.
• Return on equity has greatly decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Metals & Mining industry and the overall market, AGNICO EAGLE MINES LTD's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
• Despite any intermediate fluctuations, we have only bad news to report on this stock's performance over the last year: it has tumbled by 52.15%, worse than the S&P 500's performance. Consistent with the plunge in the stock price, the company's earnings per share are down 792.15% compared to the year-earlier quarter. Turning toward the future, the fact that the stock has come down in price over the past year should not necessarily be interpreted as a negative; it could be one of the factors that may help make the stock attractive down the road. Right now, however, we believe that it is too soon to buy.
• AEM's debt-to-equity ratio is very low at 0.29 and is currently below that of the industry average, implying that there has been very successful management of debt levels. Along with the favorable debt-to-equity ratio, the company maintains an adequate quick ratio of 1.20, which illustrates the ability to avoid short-term cash problems.

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Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties in Canada, Finland, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as silver, copper, zinc, and lead. The company has a P/E ratio of 48.9, below the average metals & mining industry P/E ratio of 50 and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Agnico-Eagle Mines has a market cap of $5.84 billion and is part of the basic materials sector and metals & mining industry. Shares are up 0.7% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.

You can view the full Agnico-Eagle Mines Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.
-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

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