Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Up 6.9%

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 6.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $5.25 and last traded at $5.25. 1,847,844 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 7,697,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HL shares. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $4.60 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $10.25 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday. Finally, National Bank Financial reaffirmed an "outperform market weight" rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.89.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4.75 and a 200 day moving average of $4.44. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.40 and a beta of 2.21.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.02). Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 11.69% and a negative return on equity of 0.27%. The company had revenue of $160.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.02 earnings per share. Hecla Mining's revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.006 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -20.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HL. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 60,513,592 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $291,070,000 after purchasing an additional 3,827,580 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,761,000. CoreCommodity Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 1,763.7% in the 4th quarter. CoreCommodity Management LLC now owns 1,029,906 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,954,000 after buying an additional 974,645 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,070,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $14,769,000 after acquiring an additional 507,416 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 163.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 814,376 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,184,000 after acquiring an additional 505,271 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.