Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Earns “Buy” Rating from HC Wainwright

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by investment analysts at HC Wainwright in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $11.50 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 104.44% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. National Bank Financial lowered Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.25.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of HL stock traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $5.63. 20,575,591 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,627,066. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $5.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.86. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -140.63 and a beta of 1.91. Hecla Mining has a 12 month low of $3.40 and a 12 month high of $7.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. 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 positive return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 2.27%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HL. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 771.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 4,438 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Hecla Mining by 30.7% during 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

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.