Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. CIBC raised their price objective on Hecla Mining from $12.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Roth Capital set a $8.75 price target on shares of Hecla Mining and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.75.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 4.6%

Shares of Hecla Mining stock opened at $12.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.23 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $4.46 and a 12-month high of $15.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.69.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.51%. The firm had revenue of $304.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.02 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is currently 6.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 14,472 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total value of $163,388.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 73,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $826,428. The trade was a 16.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Hecla Mining during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 255.6% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 4,425 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.