Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Up to $4.90

Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $4.90, but opened at $5.05. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $5.19, with a volume of 1,281,154 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts raised Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Hecla Mining to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $10.25 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. CIBC upped their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.75 to $7.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, National Bank Financial reiterated an “outperform market weight” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hecla Mining has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.89.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 5.7 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.32 and a 200 day moving average of $4.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The basic materials company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $189.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.31 million. Hecla Mining had a negative return on equity of 0.28% and a negative net margin of 12.22%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.006 per share. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is currently -20.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert Denis Brown sold 24,792 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 607,649 shares in the company, valued at $2,983,556.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Robert Denis Brown sold 24,792 shares of the company’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 transaction of $121,728.72. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 607,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,983,556.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total value of $57,343.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 393,894 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,019.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 67,105 shares of company stock worth $329,486. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 0.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,567,847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $225,090,000 after acquiring an additional 487,299 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 223,508 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 39,494 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,928,871 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,182,000 after purchasing an additional 69,308 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,761,000. Finally, SCP Investment LP boosted its position in Hecla Mining by 34.7% during 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. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.