Traders Purchase High Volume of First Majestic Silver Call Options (NYSE:AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 58,613 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 33% compared to the typical daily volume of 43,917 call options.

First Majestic Silver Trading Up 0.4%

First Majestic Silver stock opened at $12.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. First Majestic Silver has a 12 month low of $5.09 and a 12 month high of $13.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of -1,209.49 and a beta of 0.76.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The mining company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $264.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $387.25 million. First Majestic Silver had a return on equity of 1.72% and a net margin of 1.78%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 94.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. Analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.0048 per share. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is presently -200.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AG. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 1,221.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,793 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 3,506 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in First Majestic Silver in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,114 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,860 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in First Majestic Silver in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in First Majestic Silver in the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. 27.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AG. Scotiabank upped their target price on First Majestic Silver from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. National Bank Financial upgraded First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.75 price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.63.

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.