Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.75.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HL shares. TD Securities downgraded Hecla Mining from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL opened at $5.73 on Thursday. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $4.41 and a 12-month high of $7.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 114.62 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.67.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. Hecla Mining's payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $47,630.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,372.16. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $84,604.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,543,551.94. The trade was a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HL. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961 shares during 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 in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Hecla Mining by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 173,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,297 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 2,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benin Management CORP raised its holdings in Hecla Mining by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 32,850 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 3,000 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.

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