Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Trading Up 10.3% – Should You Buy?

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)’s stock price traded up 10.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $5.64 and last traded at $5.67. 4,082,285 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 14,276,757 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. National Bank Financial raised Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities dropped their price target on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hecla Mining presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.13.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $5.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.42 and a beta of 1.57.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The business had revenue of $261.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.01) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In related news, Director Catherine J. Boggs purchased 20,000 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $99,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 348,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,737,363.31. This represents a 6.09% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HL. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 317.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 909,811 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,069,000 after purchasing an additional 691,862 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 23,847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 5,772 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 42,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 4,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

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.