Roth Mkm Lowers Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Price Target to $6.50

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) had its price target reduced by Roth Mkm from $6.60 to $6.50 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the basic materials company's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $8.00.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of Hecla Mining stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.23. 28,148,344 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,887,594. The stock has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.52 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $5.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.86. Hecla Mining has a 12 month low of $3.40 and a 12 month high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.02%.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In related news, CEO Robert Krcmarov bought 6,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.29 per share, for a total transaction of $34,755.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,755,518.24. The trade was a 2.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,718,551 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $44,813,000 after acquiring an additional 456,107 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,991 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,210,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,865,241 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $92,499,000 after purchasing an additional 711,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 378.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 897,261 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,985,000 after purchasing an additional 709,576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company's stock.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides precious and base metal properties in the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, and China. The company mines for silver, gold, lead, and zinc concentrates, as well as carbon material containing silver and gold for custom smelters, metal traders, and third-party processors; and doré containing silver and gold.