First Majestic Silver Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:AG)

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AG. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 805.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,161 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares during the period. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in First Majestic Silver during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 27.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Securities upgraded First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

First Majestic Silver Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE AG traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $6.76. The company had a trading volume of 21,100,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,322,496. The company’s fifty day moving average is $5.95 and its 200-day moving average is $6.15. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.30 and a beta of 1.16. 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 one year low of $4.43 and a one year high of $8.44.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The mining company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $172.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.77 million. First Majestic Silver had a negative return on equity of 3.07% and a negative net margin of 18.17%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.0057 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is currently -5.71%.

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.