Hecla Mining (HL) Competitors

U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) and Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, media sentiment, profitability, community ranking and earnings.

Does the media prefer SLCA or HL?

In the previous week, Hecla Mining had 26 more articles in the media than U.S. Silica. MarketBeat recorded 29 mentions for Hecla Mining and 3 mentions for U.S. Silica. U.S. Silica's average media sentiment score of 0.79 beat Hecla Mining's score of 0.69 indicating that Hecla Mining is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
U.S. Silica	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Hecla Mining	9 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, SLCA or HL?

U.S. Silica has a beta of 2.16, suggesting that its share price is 116% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hecla Mining has a beta of 2.21, suggesting that its share price is 121% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend SLCA or HL?

U.S. Silica presently has a consensus target price of $15.25, indicating a potential downside of 1.74%. Hecla Mining has a consensus target price of $6.89, indicating a potential upside of 13.00%. Given U.S. Silica's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Hecla Mining is more favorable than U.S. Silica.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
U.S. Silica	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Hecla Mining	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.13

Is SLCA or HL a better dividend stock?

U.S. Silica pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Hecla Mining pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. U.S. Silica pays out 5.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hecla Mining pays out -20.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Hecla Mining has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor SLCA or HL?

U.S. Silica received 413 more outperform votes than Hecla Mining when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 74.17% of users gave U.S. Silica an outperform vote while only 56.47% of users gave Hecla Mining an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
U.S. Silica	Outperform Votes 867 74.17%	Underperform Votes 302 25.83%
Hecla Mining	Outperform Votes 454 56.47%	Underperform Votes 350 43.53%

Is SLCA or HL more profitable?

U.S. Silica has a net margin of 8.08% compared to U.S. Silica's net margin of -12.22%. Hecla Mining's return on equity of 13.77% beat U.S. Silica's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
U.S. Silica	8.08%	13.77%	5.53%
Hecla Mining	-12.22%	-0.28%	-0.18%

Which has higher earnings & valuation, SLCA or HL?

U.S. Silica has higher revenue and earnings than Hecla Mining. Hecla Mining is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than U.S. Silica, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
U.S. Silica	$1.44B	0.84	$146.93M	$1.47	10.56
Hecla Mining	$720.23M	5.30	-$84.22M	-$0.15	-40.67

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of SLCA or HL?

87.8% of U.S. Silica shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.0% of Hecla Mining shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of U.S. Silica shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Hecla Mining shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

U.S. Silica beats Hecla Mining on 12 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.