Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $22.27, but opened at $21.09. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $20.0740, with a volume of 9,133,213 shares changing hands.

Specifically, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total transaction of $1,144,118.29. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 216,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,746,604.31. The trade was a 19.42% 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Hecla Mining from $12.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Roth Capital set a $8.75 target price on shares of Hecla Mining and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.22.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a PE ratio of 65.00 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.67.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $409.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.60 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 16.35% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 67.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is 3.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the first quarter worth about $83,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 21,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 2,135 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 42,518 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 12,851 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,175,236 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,638,000 after acquiring an additional 639,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 20.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,285,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,827,000 after purchasing an additional 739,360 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

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.