Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $5.50, but opened at $5.75. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $5.66, with a volume of 1,831,229 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities cut their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded Hecla Mining from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. National Bank Financial cut Hecla Mining from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Roth Mkm cut their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $10.25 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Hecla Mining has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.94.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -141.38 and a beta of 2.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $6.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.87.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 2.27% and a positive return on equity of 0.75%. The firm had revenue of $245.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.01) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.0138 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio is presently -125.00%.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total transaction of $735,303.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,949. This trade represents a 38.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,420,114 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $285,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,573 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 54,680,051 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $391,510,000 after buying an additional 2,238,559 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 34,644,620 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $168,027,000 after buying an additional 146,689 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hecla Mining by 5.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,865,241 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $92,499,000 after acquiring an additional 711,676 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the first quarter valued at about $42,576,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

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.