Traders Purchase Large Volume of First Majestic Silver Call Options (NYSE:AG)

Key Points

• Traders have recently shown increased interest in First Majestic Silver Corp., purchasing 58,613 call options, which is a 33% rise from the average daily volume.
• Institutional investors now hold 27.16% of First Majestic Silver's stock, with several hedge funds significantly increasing their positions in recent months.
• The company reported earnings of $0.04 per share for the quarter, missing expectations, alongside a 94% increase in revenue year-over-year; however, they also recently cut their dividend.

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 58,613 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 33% compared to the average daily volume of 43,917 call options.

Institutional Trading of First Majestic Silver

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of First Majestic Silver by 1,221.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,793 shares of the mining company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 3,506 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,860 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in First Majestic Silver in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in First Majestic Silver in the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

First Majestic Silver Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of AG traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $12.04. The stock had a trading volume of 18,946,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,227,867. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.27 and a quick ratio of 2.84. First Majestic Silver has a 52-week low of $5.09 and a 52-week high of $13.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $9.53 and its 200 day moving average is $7.92. The firm has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,204.40 and a beta of 0.75.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG - Get Free Report) TSE: FR last announced 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 firm had revenue of $264.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $387.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 94.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a $0.0048 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. First Majestic Silver's dividend 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.

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