Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Upgraded at National Bank Financial

National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on HL. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $5.50 price target (down previously from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.13.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

HL stock opened at $6.02 on Thursday. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $4.41 and a one year high of $7.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 120.32 and a beta of 1.44.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. 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 prior year, the firm 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 anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In other news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.66, for a total value of $126,047.16. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 59,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $395,670.60. This represents a 24.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine J. Boggs purchased 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $99,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 348,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,737,363.31. The trade was a 6.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HL. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Haven Private LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the first quarter worth about $56,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.