Brokerages Set Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) Target Price at $7.36

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.75.

A number of research firms have commented on HL. CIBC lifted their target price on Hecla Mining from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. National Bankshares set a $7.00 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, June 13th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Hecla Mining stock opened at $11.89 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.81. Hecla Mining has a 1-year low of $4.46 and a 1-year high of $12.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market cap of $7.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.33 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 14,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total transaction of $163,388.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 73,200 shares in the company, valued at $826,428. This trade represents a 16.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,426 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 1,434 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 3.0% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 61,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 1.5% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 125,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 10.9% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 21,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

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.