Wall Street Zen Upgrades Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) to "Buy"

Key Points

• Hecla Mining has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting increased confidence in the stock.
• HC Wainwright raised its price target for Hecla Mining from $11.50 to $12.50, while five analysts maintain a "hold" rating and three have "buy" ratings.
• The company reported a 23.8% revenue increase year-over-year, with earnings per share of $0.08, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

HL has been the subject of several other research reports. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Hecla Mining from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. CIBC lifted their price target on Hecla Mining from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. National Bankshares set a $7.00 price target on Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.36.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

NYSE HL traded up $0.13 on Friday, reaching $7.68. The stock had a trading volume of 16,018,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,108,791. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $6.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.68. Hecla Mining has a 1-year low of $4.46 and a 1-year high of $7.77. The company has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.00 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.66, for a total transaction of $126,047.16. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 59,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $395,670.60. This trade represents a 24.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 100.5% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,885,647 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $77,999,000 after acquiring an additional 7,960,826 shares during the period. Pale Fire Capital SE acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,360,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,410,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 182.4% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,006,115 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,580,000 after buying an additional 3,233,116 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 869.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,936,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

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.