Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Trading Down 3.5% – Here’s Why

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)’s stock price dropped 3.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $19.54 and last traded at $19.58. Approximately 3,001,384 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 21,946,469 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Monday. HC Wainwright raised 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 2nd. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Finally, CIBC raised their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hecla Mining has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.22.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 2.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $13.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.97 and a beta of 1.36. 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 50 day moving average is $15.60 and its 200 day moving average is $10.83.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $409.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.60 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 16.35% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 67.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In other news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 148,372 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $2,225,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 347,402 shares in the company, valued at $5,211,030. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 906,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,601,705.40. This represents a 18.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 374,460 shares of company stock worth $6,534,655 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 13.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,349,059 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $863,324,000 after purchasing an additional 8,452,401 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,881,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $603,566,000 after buying an additional 12,197,740 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,485,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $417,278,000 after buying an additional 4,453,706 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 38.0% in the third 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. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 14.7% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,118,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,509,000 after acquiring an additional 2,574,855 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.