Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Trading Up 5.1% - Here's What Happened

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 5.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $5.80 and last traded at $5.86. Approximately 10,630,040 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 11,541,591 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HL. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities lowered Hecla Mining from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.75.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 1.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 116.52 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.84.

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Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $229.21 million. Equities analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $167,764.66. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert Krcmarov purchased 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.29 per share, with a total value of $34,755.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,755,518.24. This trade represents a 2.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position 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 during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 50,969 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,210,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 711,676 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.