Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.94.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HL shares. StockNews.com lowered Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Securities lowered their price objective on Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 0.6 %

Hecla Mining stock opened at $5.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of -127.50 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.84. Hecla Mining has a 12 month low of $3.33 and a 12 month high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a positive return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 2.27%. The business had revenue of $245.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.01) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.0138 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is presently -125.00%.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,714,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 54,680,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $391,510,000 after buying an additional 2,238,559 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter worth about $14,623,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 51.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,280,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

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.