Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Trading Down 2.5% - Should You Sell?

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 2.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $5.92 and last traded at $5.93. 7,149,435 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 15,091,155 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on HL. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $5.50 price objective (down from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Monday, May 5th. TD Securities cut their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, National Bankshares set a $7.00 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, June 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $7.10.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average is $5.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 52.32 and a beta of 1.44.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 3.87% and a net margin of 7.13%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.01) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Hecla Mining's payout ratio is presently 9.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In other news, Director Catherine J. Boggs acquired 20,000 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.99 per share, with a total value of $99,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 348,169 shares in the company, valued at $1,737,363.31. This trade represents a 6.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 59,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $395,670.60. This represents a 24.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 947,881 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,654,000 after acquiring an additional 43,023 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 368,274 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 49,883 shares during the last quarter. 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. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 178,816 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $878,000 after acquiring an additional 27,000 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

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.