Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Key Points

• Hecla Mining's share price surged from $6.11 to $6.96 after the company reported a strong earnings beat with $0.08 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.05.
• The company’s revenue increased by 23.8% year-over-year, reaching $304.03 million compared to a consensus estimate of $248.93 million.
• Institutional investors hold 63.01% of Hecla Mining's stock, with recent increases in stakes by major firms such as Vanguard Group and Dimensional Fund Advisors.

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $6.11, but opened at $6.96. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $7.11, with a volume of 13,926,866 shares changing hands.

The basic materials company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 3.87%. The firm had revenue of $304.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.02 earnings per share. Hecla Mining's revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HL has been the topic of several recent research reports. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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 report on Thursday. Roth Capital reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. National Bankshares set a $7.00 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.36.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In related news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.66, for a total value of $126,047.16. Following the sale, the vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 2.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 8.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 28,827,696 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $160,285,000 after purchasing an additional 2,306,239 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 100.5% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,885,647 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $77,999,000 after purchasing an additional 7,960,826 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,904,662 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $68,289,000 after purchasing an additional 39,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake 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 valued at $67,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 18.3%

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $5.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.64. The stock has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.52 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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.