Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.75.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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 note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $47,630.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,372.16. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Krcmarov acquired 6,570 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.29 per share, for a total transaction of $34,755.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,755,518.24. The trade was a 2.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HL. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 100.5% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,885,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,999,000 after purchasing an additional 7,960,826 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,441,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 182.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,006,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,580,000 after acquiring an additional 3,233,116 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the third quarter worth about $14,623,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 1,331.9% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,997,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,809,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858,271 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HL opened at $5.90 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.92 and a beta of 1.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $5.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.83. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $4.04 and a 12-month high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. On average, research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

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.