Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 95,702 call options on the company. This is an increase of 62% compared to the average volume of 58,929 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of First Majestic Silver by 29,900.0% in 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. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 3,898 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in First Majestic Silver during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

AG opened at $15.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a current ratio of 3.27. The company has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of -1,512.49 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.60 and a 200-day moving average of $9.79. First Majestic Silver has a 52-week low of $5.09 and a 52-week high of $15.69.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The mining company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $285.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $429.78 million. First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 1.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 95.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.09) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AG. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Majestic Silver from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. TD Securities upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. National Bankshares set a $22.00 target price on First Majestic Silver and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on First Majestic Silver from $9.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, National Bank Financial raised First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.33.

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.