Stock Traders Buy 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. Stock traders purchased 131,644 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 70% compared to the average volume of 77,249 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver from $12.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. National Bankshares set a $22.00 price target on First Majestic Silver and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.17.

First Majestic Silver Stock Down 17.3%

First Majestic Silver stock opened at $20.82 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.29. The company has a current ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. First Majestic Silver has a 1-year low of $5.09 and a 1-year high of $27.90. The company has a market cap of $10.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 148.71 and a beta of 0.77.

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

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of First Majestic Silver

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AG. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in First Majestic Silver during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in First Majestic Silver by 29,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 2,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in First Majestic Silver by 57.2% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,114 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,860 shares in the last quarter. 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.