Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $17.40 and last traded at $17.0910, with a volume of 24494019 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on HL. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Hecla Mining from $12.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Hecla Mining from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.22.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a PE ratio of 106.83 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.43 and a 200-day moving average of $9.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 5.51% and a net margin of 9.55%.The firm had revenue of $409.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 67.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is 3.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hecla Mining news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 148,372 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $2,225,580.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 347,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,211,030. The trade was a 29.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 14,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total transaction of $163,388.88. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 73,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $826,428. The trade was a 16.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 181,379 shares of company stock worth $2,667,365. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining during the first quarter worth about $2,964,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 146.8% in the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 647,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,601,000 after buying an additional 385,283 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $187,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,830,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $349,340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437,895 shares during the period. Finally, Pale Fire Capital SE purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,360,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.