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

Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.75.

HL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Securities lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research report on Tuesday.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In other news, CEO Robert Krcmarov purchased 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 331,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,755,518.24. This represents a 2.02 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $47,630.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 104,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,372.16. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

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

Hecla Mining Stock Up 5.7 %

Shares of Hecla Mining stock opened at $5.45 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.84. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.92 and a beta of 1.94. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $4.04 and a 12-month high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. Research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.