Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) shares 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 equities analysts recently commented on HL shares. TD Securities cut shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hecla Mining currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.75.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $5.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 117.72 and a beta of 1.94.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The firm had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Hecla Mining news, CEO Robert Krcmarov purchased 6,570 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.29 per share, with a total value of $34,755.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,755,518.24. This trade represents a 2.02 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $84,604.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 297,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,551.94. This trade represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,718,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,813,000 after acquiring an additional 456,107 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 51.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842,991 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 202.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 76,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 50,969 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,210,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,865,241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,499,000 after acquiring an additional 711,676 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.