Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Hecla Mining Company's shares saw a significant drop, gapping down from a previous close of $14.47 to open at $12.98 on Tuesday, with ongoing trading around $12.69.
• Several analysts have revised target prices for Hecla Mining, with CIBC boosting their target from $12.50 to $15.00 and a consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts.
• The firm reported strong quarterly earnings, with earnings per share of $0.08, exceeding estimates and a 23.8% year-over-year revenue increase of $304.03 million.

Shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $14.47, but opened at $12.98. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $12.69, with a volume of 6,315,549 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hecla Mining Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a PE ratio of 81.60 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.99.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $304.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $248.93 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.51%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.02 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 14,472 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total transaction of $163,388.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 73,200 shares of the company's stock, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HL. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,426 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 3.0% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 61,291 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.5% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 125,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 21,657 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.