Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.1250.

A number of research firms have weighed in on HL. HC Wainwright cut their target price on Hecla Mining from $36.50 to $26.75 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Hecla Mining from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Hecla Mining from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 1.3%

HL stock opened at $15.12 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.48. The company has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87 and a beta of 1.29. Hecla Mining has a 52 week low of $5.62 and a 52 week high of $34.17. The company has a current ratio of 4.94, a quick ratio of 4.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.03). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The company had revenue of $411.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $407.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 57.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is 2.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,285,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,827,000 after purchasing an additional 739,360 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 24.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,959,276 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,894,000 after purchasing an additional 380,448 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 10.9% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 65,536 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 6,450 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 71.6% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 78,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 32,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 1.8% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 153,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. 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.