Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Trading Down 1.4% – Time to Sell?

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) traded down 1.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $22.45 and last traded at $23.6470. 18,221,967 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 27,730,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HL shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $16.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Roth Mkm set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.63.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.72. The company has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.26 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.10.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.04%.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In related news, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 906,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,601,705.40. This trade represents a 18.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president owned 216,641 shares in the company, valued at $4,746,604.31. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HL. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Hecla Mining by 32.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,881,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $603,566,000 after buying an additional 12,197,740 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,349,059 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $863,324,000 after purchasing an additional 8,452,401 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 38.0% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 6,472,566 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 86.7% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,715,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $244,003,000 after purchasing an additional 5,906,313 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth $88,417,000. Hedge funds and other 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.