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

Shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.10.

Several brokerages have weighed in on HL. TD Securities cut their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. National Bankshares set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, June 13th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $5.50 price target (down from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

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

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 10.9% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,883 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 173,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,297 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Hecla Mining by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 25,370 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 2,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 45,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

HL stock opened at $5.94 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $5.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.47. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $4.41 and a 12-month high of $7.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.96 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.87% and a net margin of 7.13%. The business had revenue of $261.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.50 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

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

About Hecla Mining

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.

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