Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 54,692,482 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 142% from the previous session’s volume of 22,585,359 shares.The stock last traded at $14.43 and had previously closed at $14.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. HC Wainwright decreased their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $36.50 to $26.75 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.12.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 0.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 4.53 and a current ratio of 4.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.21 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.66.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.03). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $411.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $407.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 57.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is 2.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,620,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $319,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770,949 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,397,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,417,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new position in Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,433,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Hecla Mining by 2,648.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 565,059 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,843,000 after purchasing an additional 544,500 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.