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

Key Points

• Investors are notably bullish on First Majestic Silver, purchasing 57,708 call options, which represents a 109% increase compared to the average daily volume.
• Wall Street analysts generally have a hold rating on the stock, with a consensus price target of $9.63, although HC Wainwright recently set a price target of $12.75.
• First Majestic Silver reported a 94% year-over-year revenue increase, but missed earnings expectations, posting $0.04 per share against an estimate of $0.06.

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 57,708 call options on the company. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately109% compared to the typical volume of 27,658 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,935,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the first quarter worth approximately $79,000. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan bought a new position in First Majestic Silver during the 1st quarter valued at $47,656,000. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. bought a new position in First Majestic Silver during the 1st quarter valued at $2,009,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 1,207,445 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $8,078,000 after purchasing an additional 180,716 shares during the period. 27.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bank Financial raised shares of First Majestic Silver to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of First Majestic Silver from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $12.75 price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Friday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Majestic Silver currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.63.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

NYSE:AG traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.16. 20,354,902 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,190,220. First Majestic Silver has a twelve month low of $4.59 and a twelve month high of $9.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -914.59 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.27 and a quick ratio of 2.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $8.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.29.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The mining company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.02). First Majestic Silver had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 1.72%. The company had revenue of $264.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.07) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 94.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.0048 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. First Majestic Silver's payout ratio is presently -200.00%.

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.