BMO Capital Markets Reaffirms "Market Perform" Rating for Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

BMO Capital Markets reiterated their market perform rating on shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a $5.50 target price on the basic materials company's stock, down from their previous target price of $7.50.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on HL. Roth Mkm lowered their price target 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. National Bank Financial raised Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, TD Securities cut shares of Hecla Mining from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.20.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Hecla Mining stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $5.16. 28,547,221 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,993,165. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $5.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.57. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.22 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08. Hecla Mining has a 52 week low of $4.41 and a 52 week high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $261.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Hecla Mining's payout ratio is presently 9.09%.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In other Hecla Mining news, Director Catherine J. Boggs bought 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $99,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 348,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,737,363.31. The trade was a 6.09 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $167,764.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 246,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,276,559.20. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HL. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $35,453,000 after purchasing an additional 502,094 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,640,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Hecla Mining by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,189,473 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $20,570,000 after buying an additional 707,712 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Hecla Mining by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,393,040 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $301,440,000 after buying an additional 774,000 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 202.4% during the 4th 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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.