Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Stock Price Down 7% After Earnings Miss

Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) were down 7% during trading on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $6.04 and last traded at $5.93. Approximately 4,258,712 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 16,128,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.37.

The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a positive return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 2.27%.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -125.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HL. National Bank Financial lowered Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Securities decreased their target price on Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hecla Mining presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 771.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 4,438 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 14.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -135.63 and a beta of 1.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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.