Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.75.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HL. TD Securities lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

HL opened at $5.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.92 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.50 and a 200 day moving average of $5.84. Hecla Mining has a fifty-two week low of $4.04 and a fifty-two week high of $7.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released 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 net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The business had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. 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 20.00%.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In other Hecla Mining 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 directly owns 246,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,559.20. The trade was a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $84,604.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 297,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,551.94. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 4,438 shares during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

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.