Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Up 6.7% – Here’s What Happened

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)’s share price shot up 6.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $23.21 and last traded at $22.74. 18,983,052 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 29,686,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on HL. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $16.50 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 2nd. Zacks Research raised Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 price target on Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $21.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.15. The firm has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.35 and a beta of 1.25.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 16.35%.The company had revenue of $409.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.60 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 67.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total value of $1,144,118.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 216,641 shares in the company, valued at $4,746,604.31. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 148,372 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $2,225,580.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 347,402 shares in the company, valued at $5,211,030. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 426,679 shares of company stock valued at $7,678,773. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hecla Mining by 13.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,349,059 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $863,324,000 after acquiring an additional 8,452,401 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,881,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $603,566,000 after purchasing an additional 12,197,740 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,485,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $417,278,000 after purchasing an additional 4,453,706 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 38.0% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,524,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $284,651,000 after purchasing an additional 6,472,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 14.7% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,118,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,509,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574,855 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, founded in 1891 and headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is one of the oldest publicly traded precious metals companies in the United States. Originally established to develop the rich silver deposits of the Coeur d’Alene district, Hecla has evolved into a diversified mining enterprise focused on the exploration, development and production of silver and gold, with by-product credits from lead and zinc.

The company’s principal operations are located in North America and Latin America.