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

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 131,644 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 70% compared to the typical volume of 77,249 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Friday, January 16th. National Bank Financial upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of First Majestic Silver from $17.50 to $24.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Cormark raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, National Bankshares set a $22.00 price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.17.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

NYSE AG opened at $20.82 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.26. First Majestic Silver has a twelve month low of $5.09 and a twelve month high of $27.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $10.23 billion, a PE ratio of 148.71 and a beta of 0.77.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The mining company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $285.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $429.78 million. First Majestic Silver had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 7.07%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 95.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.09) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.0052 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This is a positive change from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.29%.

Institutional Trading of First Majestic Silver

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Majestic Silver during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 29,900.0% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 2,990 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 57.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,114 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,860 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

First Majestic Silver Company Profile

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) engages in the production of silver from its wholly owned operations in Mexico. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, the company focuses on acquiring, developing and operating high-grade silver projects. Established in 2002, First Majestic has built a multi-mine portfolio to supply silver primarily for the global industrial and investment markets while generating by-products such as gold, lead and zinc concentrates.

First Majestic’s principal operations are located in the historic Mexican Silver Belt, with producing mines including La Encantada in Coahuila, Santa Elena in Sonora and La Parrilla in Durango.