Traders Buy High Volume of Agnico Eagle Mines Put Options (NYSE:AEM)

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM) (TSE:AEM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 11,407 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 94% compared to the average daily volume of 5,874 put options.

Institutional Trading of Agnico Eagle Mines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Agnico Eagle Mines by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,472 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. raised its position in Agnico Eagle Mines by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 412 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,944 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Agnico Eagle Mines by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 24,407 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,753 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. 68.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Agnico Eagle Mines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEM opened at $105.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $53.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $94.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.86. Agnico Eagle Mines has a fifty-two week low of $54.02 and a fifty-two week high of $107.88.

Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) (TSE:AEM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The mining company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.44). Agnico Eagle Mines had a net margin of 22.88% and a return on equity of 10.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Agnico Eagle Mines will post 4.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agnico Eagle Mines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Agnico Eagle Mines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Agnico Eagle Mines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Agnico Eagle Mines from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Agnico Eagle Mines from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Agnico Eagle Mines and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Securities cut their target price on Agnico Eagle Mines from $108.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agnico Eagle Mines presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.78.

About Agnico Eagle Mines

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, a gold mining company, exploration, development, and production of precious metals. It explores for gold. The company's mines are located in Canada, Australia, Finland and Mexico, with exploration and development activities in Canada, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States.