Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 39,607 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 81% compared to the average volume of 21,895 call options.

Institutional Trading of First Majestic Silver

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC purchased a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,419,000. Realta Investment Advisors increased its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 497,726 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,882,000 after acquiring an additional 71,456 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 565,982 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $3,109,000 after acquiring an additional 18,219 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in First Majestic Silver by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 21,500 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the 4th quarter worth $2,442,000. 27.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Majestic Silver Stock Up 10.9%

Shares of AG stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $6.85. 36,838,447 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,381,184. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.64 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.00. First Majestic Silver has a 52-week low of $4.43 and a 52-week high of $8.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.12.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The mining company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $241.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $358.65 million. First Majestic Silver had a negative return on equity of 3.07% and a negative net margin of 18.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.05) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

First Majestic Silver Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.0045 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. First Majestic Silver’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -3.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Securities upgraded shares of First Majestic Silver to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. National Bankshares reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of First Majestic Silver from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.75.

First Majestic Silver Company Profile

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.