Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $5.89, but opened at $6.10. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $6.13, with a volume of 3,469,686 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. National Bank Financial raised Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a 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 target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.75.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $5.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.69. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 119.22 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining's payout ratio is 20.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hecla Mining news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $84,604.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 297,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,543,551.94. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 owns 104,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $541,372.16. The trade was a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,220,645 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,453,000 after purchasing an additional 502,094 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth $1,640,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,189,473 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $20,570,000 after acquiring an additional 707,712 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hecla Mining by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,393,040 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $301,440,000 after acquiring an additional 774,000 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 202.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 76,151 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 50,969 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently 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.