Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $33.83 and last traded at $33.9870, with a volume of 6490127 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $31.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Hecla Mining from $16.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.06.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.82. The stock has a market cap of $18.67 billion, a PE ratio of 89.16 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 16.35%.The firm had revenue of $409.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 67.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is presently 3.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total transaction of $1,144,118.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 216,641 shares in the company, valued at $4,746,604.31. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total value of $4,030,679.26. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 906,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,601,705.40. The trade was a 18.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 426,679 shares of company stock valued at $7,678,773 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Hecla Mining by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,349,059 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $863,324,000 after buying an additional 8,452,401 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,881,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $603,566,000 after purchasing an additional 12,197,740 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 14.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,485,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $417,278,000 after buying an additional 4,453,706 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 38.0% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,524,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $284,651,000 after buying an additional 6,472,566 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,118,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,509,000 after acquiring an additional 2,574,855 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, founded in 1891 and headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is one of the oldest publicly traded precious metals companies in the United States. Originally established to develop the rich silver deposits of the Coeur d’Alene district, Hecla has evolved into a diversified mining enterprise focused on the exploration, development and production of silver and gold, with by-product credits from lead and zinc.

The company’s principal operations are located in North America and Latin America.