Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Down to $6.17

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $6.17, but opened at $6.04. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $5.99, with a volume of 482,487 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $10.25 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.89.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $5.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.17 and a beta of 2.01.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 12.22% and a negative return on equity of 0.28%. The business had revenue of $245.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.0138 per share. This is an increase from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hecla Mining news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total value of $57,343.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 393,894 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,019.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total value of $57,343.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 393,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,934,019.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert Denis Brown sold 24,792 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total value of $121,728.72. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 607,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,983,556.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,105 shares of company stock worth $329,486 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 172,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $828,000 after buying an additional 2,868 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 338,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after acquiring an additional 2,939 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 8.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 44,553 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 3,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 21,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 4,146 shares during the period. 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.