Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Up to $6.01

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.01, but opened at $6.16. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $6.18, with a volume of 1,445,224 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on HL. StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.75 to $7.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.89.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.07 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $5.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.96.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 12.22% and a negative return on equity of 0.28%. The business had revenue of $245.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.05 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be given a $0.0138 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -33.33%.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In other Hecla Mining news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total transaction of $57,343.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 393,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,019.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hecla Mining news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 30,634 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total transaction of $150,412.94. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 351,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,728,182.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total value of $57,343.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 393,894 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,019.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,105 shares of company stock valued at $329,486. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 60,513,592 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $291,070,000 after purchasing an additional 3,827,580 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,420,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,573 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 34,919,446 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $167,967,000 after acquiring an additional 168,185 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,576,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 8,219,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,863,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,515 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Hecla Mining

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.