Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Sets New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) reached a new 52-week high with shares trading at $14.33, significantly up from the previous close of $13.29.
• Analysts have shown mixed sentiment towards Hecla Mining, with price targets ranging from $6.50 to $15.00 and an overall average rating of "Hold."
• The company reported a 23.8% year-over-year increase in revenue, reaching $304.03 million, along with earnings per share of $0.08, surpassing analyst expectations.

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $14.22 and last traded at $14.33, with a volume of 2629052 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on HL shares. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $12.50 to $15.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hecla Mining from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.75.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.03 and a beta of 1.31. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $9.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.15.

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

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 14,472 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total value of $163,388.88. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 73,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $826,428. The trade was a 16.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the first quarter valued at about $2,964,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 146.8% in the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 647,748 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,601,000 after purchasing an additional 385,283 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the first quarter valued at about $187,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,830,935 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $349,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pale Fire Capital SE acquired a new position in Hecla Mining in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,360,000. Hedge funds and other 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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