First Majestic Silver Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 28,181 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 52% compared to the typical daily volume of 18,510 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AG shares. StockNews.com raised First Majestic Silver from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. TD Securities upgraded First Majestic Silver to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of First Majestic Silver in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Majestic Silver has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.50.

First Majestic Silver Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of AG stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $6.52. 17,876,512 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,750,546. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $6.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.19. First Majestic Silver has a 12-month low of $4.43 and a 12-month high of $8.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.61 and a beta of 0.97.

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

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.0057 per share. 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 yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. First Majestic Silver's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -5.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in First Majestic Silver by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 131,877 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 16,424 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver in the third quarter worth $70,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of First Majestic Silver during the third quarter valued at $504,000. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver during the third quarter valued at $2,419,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 9.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 136,901 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 12,171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.16% of the company's stock.

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.