Hecla Mining (HL) Competitors

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) and Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, institutional ownership and dividends.

Does the media prefer AG or HL?

In the previous week, First Majestic Silver had 6 more articles in the media than Hecla Mining. MarketBeat recorded 24 mentions for First Majestic Silver and 18 mentions for Hecla Mining. Hecla Mining's average media sentiment score of 0.84 beat First Majestic Silver's score of 0.46 indicating that Hecla Mining is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Majestic Silver	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Hecla Mining	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate AG or HL?

First Majestic Silver presently has a consensus price target of $9.63, suggesting a potential upside of 16.38%. Hecla Mining has a consensus price target of $7.07, suggesting a potential upside of 21.71%. Given Hecla Mining's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Hecla Mining is more favorable than First Majestic Silver.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Majestic Silver	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20
Hecla Mining	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29

Which has higher valuation and earnings, AG or HL?

Hecla Mining has higher revenue and earnings than First Majestic Silver. First Majestic Silver is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hecla Mining, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Majestic Silver	$560.60M	7.19	-$101.89M	-$0.29	-28.52
Hecla Mining	$929.92M	3.95	$35.80M	$0.11	52.82

Is AG or HL more profitable?

Hecla Mining has a net margin of 7.13% compared to First Majestic Silver's net margin of -12.32%. Hecla Mining's return on equity of 3.87% beat First Majestic Silver's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Majestic Silver	-12.32%	-0.14%	-0.10%
Hecla Mining	7.13%	3.87%	2.64%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in AG or HL?

27.2% of First Majestic Silver shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.0% of Hecla Mining shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of First Majestic Silver shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Hecla Mining shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is AG or HL a better dividend stock?

First Majestic Silver pays an annual dividend of $0.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Hecla Mining pays an annual dividend of $0.01 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. First Majestic Silver pays out -6.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hecla Mining pays out 9.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. First Majestic Silver is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has more risk & volatility, AG or HL?

First Majestic Silver has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hecla Mining has a beta of 1.47, suggesting that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Hecla Mining beats First Majestic Silver on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.