Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Trading 6.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)’s stock price traded up 6.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $5.85 and last traded at $5.81. 2,624,960 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 12,885,405 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on HL shares. TD Securities lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.75.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 4.5 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $5.53 and a 200 day moving average of $5.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.52 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. As a group, analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.00%.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In related news, CEO Robert Krcmarov bought 6,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.29 per share, with a total value of $34,755.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,755,518.24. This represents a 2.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a 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 dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $84,604.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 297,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,543,551.94. The trade was a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 43.8% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 47,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 14,521 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 3,691 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,140,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,607,000 after acquiring an additional 14,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 13,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944 shares during the last quarter. 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.