Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Stock Price Down 6.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)’s stock price traded down 6.5% during trading on Friday after TD Securities lowered their price target on the stock from $7.00 to $6.50. TD Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock. Hecla Mining traded as low as $5.36 and last traded at $5.27. 3,002,101 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 17,111,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.63.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on HL. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 771.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 4,438 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,961 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 5.6 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $5.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.86. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 106.54 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The firm had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. As a group, analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.02%.

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.