Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Hecla Mining's stock reached a new 52-week high of $8.06, with a trading volume of over 16.8 million shares, up from a previous close of $8.00.
• The company reported a 23.8% increase in revenue versus the same quarter last year, reaching $304.03 million, and also beat earnings expectations with $0.08 EPS.
• Hecla Mining declared a quarterly dividend of $0.0038, representing an annualized yield of 0.2%, with a payout ratio of just 6.25%.

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $8.06 and last traded at $8.05, with a volume of 16873754 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on HL. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. National Bankshares set a $7.00 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, June 13th. Roth Capital reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, August 7th. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.36.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company's 50 day moving average is $6.50 and its 200-day moving average is $5.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.28 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Hecla Mining's payout ratio is currently 6.25%.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In other news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 59,410 shares in the company, valued at $395,670.60. The trade was a 24.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HL. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 100.5% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,885,647 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $77,999,000 after buying an additional 7,960,826 shares during the last quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the first quarter worth $41,360,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 40.6% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,052,346 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $102,144,000 after buying an additional 4,928,130 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the first quarter worth $18,410,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 869.3% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 3,274,065 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $18,204,000 after buying an additional 2,936,288 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

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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