Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $5.52, but opened at $5.88. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $6.07, with a volume of 3,398,821 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HL. TD Securities decreased their price objective on Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. National Bank Financial lowered Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.94.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -142.50 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.88.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a positive return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 2.27%. The business had revenue of $245.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.01) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.0138 dividend. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is currently -125.00%.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total transaction of $735,303.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,949. This represents a 38.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HL. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 2nd quarter valued at about $19,714,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 54,680,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $391,510,000 after buying an additional 2,238,559 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $14,623,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,258,000 after buying an additional 1,842,991 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,280,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.