First Majestic Silver Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 25,196 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 58% compared to the typical daily volume of 15,949 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 14.6% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 93,751 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 11,939 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 4.7% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 249,929 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 11,311 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver during the third quarter worth $2,057,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 14.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 131,877 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 16,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in First Majestic Silver during the third quarter valued at about $748,000. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Majestic Silver Trading Down 3.1 %

First Majestic Silver stock opened at $6.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.30 and a beta of 1.16. First Majestic Silver has a 1 year low of $4.43 and a 1 year high of $8.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.56.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The mining company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $172.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.77 million. On average, research analysts predict that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AG shares. TD Securities raised First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com raised First Majestic Silver from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of First Majestic Silver from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.50.

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.