Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Receives $7.75 Average PT from Analysts

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.75.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $11.50 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

NYSE HL traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5.48. The company had a trading volume of 31,623,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,922,010. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.74. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.52 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Hecla Mining has a fifty-two week low of $4.41 and a fifty-two week high of $7.68.

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Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. Equities analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.00%.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In other Hecla Mining news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $167,764.66. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 246,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,276,559.20. The trade was a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Krcmarov bought 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.29 per share, with a total value of $34,755.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,755,518.24. This represents a 2.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HL. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Hecla Mining by 100.5% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,885,647 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $77,999,000 after purchasing an additional 7,960,826 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $18,441,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 182.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,006,115 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $24,580,000 after acquiring an additional 3,233,116 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 1,331.9% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,997,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,809,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 51.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842,991 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.