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

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 25,196 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 58% compared to the average daily volume of 15,949 call options.

First Majestic Silver Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AG opened at $6.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of -19.30 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. First Majestic Silver has a 12-month low of $4.43 and a 12-month high of $8.44.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The mining company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $227.77 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -5.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 135.2% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,596,866 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $74,647,000 after purchasing an additional 7,816,177 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,423,691 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $62,784,000 after buying an additional 598,996 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Majestic Silver by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,455,923 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $24,463,000 after buying an additional 1,420,937 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 897.8% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,759,181 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $20,638,000 after buying an additional 3,382,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,472,159 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $19,060,000 after purchasing an additional 121,892 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of First Majestic Silver from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Securities upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

First Majestic Silver Company Profile

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.