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

Key Points

• Hecla Mining Company is currently rated as "Hold" by analysts, with a consensus price target of $7.3571 and mixed recommendations (five hold and two buy ratings).
• The company recently reported a 23.8% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share (EPS) exceeding analysts' expectations (actual EPS of $0.08 vs. consensus of $0.05).
• Hecla Mining declared a quarterly dividend of $0.0038 per share, reflecting a 0.1% yield and a payout ratio of 6.25%.

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.3571.

HL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Roth Capital reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Hecla Mining from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. National Bankshares set a $7.00 target price on Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In related news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 14,472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total value of $163,388.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 73,200 shares in the company, valued at $826,428. This represents a 16.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HL. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 10.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in Hecla Mining by 185.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 140,853 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 91,424 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,578,828 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,752,000 after buying an additional 127,756 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,883 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,646,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,084,000 after buying an additional 7,116 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:HL opened at $11.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.00 and a beta of 1.29. Hecla Mining has a 1-year low of $4.46 and a 1-year high of $11.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.67. The company's fifty day moving average is $8.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.59.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $304.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.93 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 5.51% and a net margin of 9.55%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.02 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining's payout ratio is 6.25%.

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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