Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Trading Up 6.4% – Here’s Why

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) shares traded up 6.4% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $5.73 and last traded at $5.73. 9,323,307 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 17,039,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HL shares. TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.38.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 6.8 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.32 and a beta of 1.91.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly 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). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. Research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.02%.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HL. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 29.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 22,471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 5,159 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 10.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 114,721 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 10,404 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter valued at about $293,000. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 4,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Management Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the third quarter valued at about $101,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.