Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Up 12.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Hecla Mining's stock surged by 12.3% to $10.13 during trading, with over 15.3 million shares changing hands, marking a 27% decrease from the average volume.
• A series of analysts have raised their price targets for Hecla Mining, with HC Wainwright setting a buy rating and a target of $12.50, while others maintain a neutral stance.
• Hecla Mining reported $0.08 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and showing a 23.8% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) rose 12.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $9.99 and last traded at $10.13. Approximately 15,310,698 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 20,979,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HL has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hecla Mining from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. CIBC upped their target price on Hecla Mining from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. National Bankshares set a $7.00 target price on Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hecla Mining presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $7.36.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.13 and a beta of 1.29. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $7.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.13.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 EPS 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 the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.02 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in Hecla Mining during the first quarter valued at about $2,964,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 146.8% during the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 647,748 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,601,000 after acquiring an additional 385,283 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the first quarter valued at about $187,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 2.3% in 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 buying an additional 1,437,895 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,578,828 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,752,000 after buying an additional 127,756 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.