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

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 28,181 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 52% compared to the average volume of 18,510 call options.

First Majestic Silver Price Performance

First Majestic Silver stock opened at $6.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of -18.87 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.18. First Majestic Silver has a 12 month low of $4.43 and a 12 month high of $8.09.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 18.17% and a negative return on equity of 3.07%. The business had revenue of $172.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.77 million. Analysts expect that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.0057 dividend. This is a boost from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is currently -5.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Friday, February 21st. TD Securities raised shares of First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 23,240 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 1,776 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 6.7% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 29,404 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in First Majestic Silver by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 370,255 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 56,852 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 17,100 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. 27.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.