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 on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 57,708 call options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately109% compared to the average volume of 27,658 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bank Financial upgraded First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $12.75 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on First Majestic Silver from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.63.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

NYSE:AG opened at $9.61 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.63 and its 200-day moving average is $7.21. First Majestic Silver has a 1-year low of $4.59 and a 1-year high of $9.62. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -960.44 and a beta of 0.78. 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 (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The mining company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.02). First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 1.72%. The company had revenue of $264.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.07) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 94.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.0048 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio is presently -200.00%.

Institutional Trading of First Majestic Silver

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,472,159 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $19,060,000 after acquiring an additional 121,892 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 100.3% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 109,980 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 55,068 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 257,158 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 7,229 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434,482 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,385,000 after acquiring an additional 174,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $322,000. 27.16% of the stock is currently 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.