Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Trading Down 3.3% - Should You Sell?

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) fell 3.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $5.71 and last traded at $5.68. 2,546,809 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 19,192,686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HL has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. TD Securities lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hecla Mining currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.75.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 1.6 %

The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 115.12 and a beta of 1.94. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.84.

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Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 research analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid 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 0.26%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In other news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $167,764.66. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 246,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,276,559.20. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Krcmarov purchased 6,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,755,518.24. This represents a 2.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HL. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,718,551 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $44,813,000 after buying an additional 456,107 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,842,991 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 202.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 76,151 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 50,969 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,210,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 137,150 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 58,650 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is 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.