Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $5.88, but opened at $6.05. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $5.98, with a volume of 1,577,650 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on HL shares. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hecla Mining has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.75.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $5.54 and a 200-day moving average of $5.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.72 and a beta of 1.94.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.21 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is 20.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In other Hecla Mining news, CEO Robert Krcmarov bought 6,570 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.29 per share, for a total transaction of $34,755.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,755,518.24. This represents a 2.02 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $167,764.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 246,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,559.20. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, 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 buying an additional 1,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

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.