Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $16.18 and last traded at $16.0610, with a volume of 11141159 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HL has been the topic of a number of research reports. CIBC raised their price objective on Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $12.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hecla Mining from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank began coverage on Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.22.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.92. The company has a market cap of $10.83 billion, a PE ratio of 101.18 and a beta of 1.29. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $409.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 67.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Hecla Mining during the third quarter worth about $97,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter worth $557,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter valued at $114,000. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter valued at $123,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 239.4% during the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 794,046 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,433,000 after acquiring an additional 560,095 shares during the last quarter. 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.