Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 23,103 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 83% compared to the typical daily volume of 12,624 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In other Hecla Mining news, Director Catherine J. Boggs purchased 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $99,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 348,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,737,363.31. This represents a 6.09% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $5.50 price target (down from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Monday, May 5th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.13.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HL traded up $0.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $6.44. The company had a trading volume of 54,742,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,679,431. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.73 and a beta of 1.44. Hecla Mining has a 12 month low of $4.41 and a 12 month high of $7.68. 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 results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $261.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.50 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. Hecla Mining's quarterly revenue was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.01) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.09%.

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.