Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by National Bank Financial

National Bank Financial cut shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $10.25 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Hecla Mining from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hecla Mining has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.94.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of Hecla Mining stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.38. 6,010,827 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,088,958. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Hecla Mining has a fifty-two week low of $3.33 and a fifty-two week high of $7.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -139.25 and a beta of 2.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $6.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.84.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a positive return on equity of 0.76% and a negative net margin of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $245.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.01) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.0138 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -125.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total transaction of $735,303.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,949. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 313.6% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 4,967 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining during the second quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Oak Family Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining during the second quarter worth about $55,000. 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.