Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.75.

HL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. National Bank Financial raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

NYSE:HL opened at $4.71 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.80. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.12 and a beta of 1.77. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $4.41 and a one year 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. Research analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $84,604.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 297,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,551.94. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Krcmarov acquired 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.29 per share, for a total transaction of $34,755.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,755,518.24. This represents a 2.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HL. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,646,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,084,000 after purchasing an additional 7,116 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $1,451,000. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth $227,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth $144,000. 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.