Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 102,811 call options on the company. This is an increase of 43% compared to the typical daily volume of 72,033 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AG. Cormark raised shares of First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of First Majestic Silver from $9.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of First Majestic Silver in a report on Friday. National Bankshares set a $22.00 target price on First Majestic Silver and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded First Majestic Silver from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.67.

First Majestic Silver Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AG traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.51. The stock had a trading volume of 33,005,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,744,102. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 153.64 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a current ratio of 3.38. First Majestic Silver has a 1-year low of $5.09 and a 1-year high of $21.54.

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) (TSE:FR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The mining company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $285.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $429.78 million. First Majestic Silver had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 7.07%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 95.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Majestic Silver will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Majestic Silver Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.0052 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. This is a positive change from First Majestic Silver’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. First Majestic Silver’s payout ratio is currently 14.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Majestic Silver

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in First Majestic Silver during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of First Majestic Silver in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 27.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Majestic Silver

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE:AG) engages in the production of silver from its wholly owned operations in Mexico. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, the company focuses on acquiring, developing and operating high-grade silver projects. Established in 2002, First Majestic has built a multi-mine portfolio to supply silver primarily for the global industrial and investment markets while generating by-products such as gold, lead and zinc concentrates.

First Majestic’s principal operations are located in the historic Mexican Silver Belt, with producing mines including La Encantada in Coahuila, Santa Elena in Sonora and La Parrilla in Durango.