Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Trading Down 5.5% - Time to Sell?

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 5.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $5.99 and last traded at $5.82. Approximately 2,289,937 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 15,766,661 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HL has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $5.50 price objective (down from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Monday, May 5th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. National Bank Financial upgraded Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Roth Capital restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, National Bankshares set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, June 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.92.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.73 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $5.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $261.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.50 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 3.87%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.01) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio is 9.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.66, for a total value of $126,047.16. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 59,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $395,670.60. This represents a 24.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine J. Boggs acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $99,800.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 348,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,737,363.31. This represents a 6.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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 HL. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining during the first quarter worth $188,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 24.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,959,276 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,894,000 after buying an additional 380,448 shares during the period. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining during the first quarter worth $333,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 20.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,285,345 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $23,827,000 after buying an additional 739,360 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 12.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,124,216 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $67,411,000 after buying an additional 1,366,700 shares during the period. 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.