Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $5.89, but opened at $6.10. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $6.13, with a volume of 3,469,686 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HL. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. TD Securities cut shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.75.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 3.1 %

The company has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.12 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.71.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. On average, research analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $167,764.66. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 246,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,559.20. This represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Krcmarov purchased 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.29 per share, for a total transaction of $34,755.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,755,518.24. This trade represents a 2.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HL. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 771.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 4,438 shares during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently 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.