Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $5.50, but opened at $5.75. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $5.66, with a volume of 1,831,229 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HL shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $10.25 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. National Bank Financial cut Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Securities decreased their target price on Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.94.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $6.52 and a 200-day moving average of $5.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of -137.50 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $245.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.03 million. Hecla Mining had a positive return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 2.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.01) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.0138 dividend. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -125.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 173,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,949. This trade represents a 38.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.0% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 248,727 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,659,000 after acquiring an additional 2,367 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 19.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 18,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 27.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 0.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 338,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,639,000 after acquiring an additional 2,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 28.6% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 13,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 2,944 shares during the period. 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.