Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Stock Price Down 1.4% – Time to Sell?

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) shares fell 1.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $22.45 and last traded at $23.6470. 18,221,967 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 27,730,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on HL shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their target price on Hecla Mining from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 price target on Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hecla Mining presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.63.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 5.2%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.04 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.72.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.04%.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In other news, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total transaction of $4,030,679.26. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 906,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,601,705.40. The trade was a 18.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president owned 216,641 shares in the company, valued at $4,746,604.31. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 74.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

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.