Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HLGet Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.24, but opened at $23.12. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $22.7290, with a volume of 10,247,094 shares trading hands.

Key Hecla Mining News

Here are the key news stories impacting Hecla Mining this week:

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HL has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $16.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.63.

Get Our Latest Research Report on HL

Hecla Mining Trading Up 5.0%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.23 and a beta of 1.25.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.23%.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total value of $4,030,679.26. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 906,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,601,705.40. This represents a 18.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 74.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Hecla Mining

(Get Free Report)

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.

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