Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a buy rating and issued a $10.25 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $7.56.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE HL opened at $6.63 on Wednesday. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $3.33 and a one year high of $7.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -82.88 and a beta of 2.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.63.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $245.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.80 million. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 5.56% and a negative return on equity of 0.42%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.0138 per share. This is a positive change from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is currently -62.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total value of $735,303.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,949. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HL. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 27.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 2,916 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 338,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,639,000 after buying an additional 2,939 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in Hecla Mining by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 44,553 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 3,386 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC raised its position in Hecla Mining by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 40,729 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 190,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 4,514 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

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.