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

Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.45.

Several research analysts have issued reports on HL shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $10.25 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, August 8th. CIBC increased their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.75 to $7.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert Denis Brown sold 24,792 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total value of $121,728.72. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 607,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,983,556.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total transaction of $57,343.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 393,894 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,019.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert Denis Brown sold 24,792 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total value of $121,728.72. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 607,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,983,556.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 175,717 shares of company stock valued at $1,064,789. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HL. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 77,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 14,295 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,902,891 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,393,000 after purchasing an additional 62,702 shares in the last quarter. SCP Investment LP grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. SCP Investment LP now owns 38,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 33,146 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 13,410 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at $13,761,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HL opened at $6.75 on Wednesday. Hecla Mining has a twelve month low of $3.33 and a twelve month high of $6.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.00 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.73 and a 200-day moving average of $5.30.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a negative return on equity of 0.42% and a negative net margin of 5.56%. The firm had revenue of $245.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.80 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.0138 per share. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is a boost from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is -33.33%.

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.