Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $19.87, but opened at $18.96. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $19.8860, with a volume of 4,140,839 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HL. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. HC Wainwright cut their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $36.50 to $26.75 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hecla Mining has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.82.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 2.2%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.64 and a beta of 1.32.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 20.84%.The business had revenue of $333.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.75 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.09 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be issued a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $0.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is currently 2.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,085,779,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 15.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,174,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $589,027,000 after acquiring an additional 5,053,624 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 14.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,485,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $417,278,000 after acquiring an additional 4,453,706 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 14.7% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,118,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $120,509,000 after acquiring an additional 2,574,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 40.6% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,052,346 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $102,144,000 after acquiring an additional 4,928,130 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, founded in 1891 and headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is one of the oldest publicly traded precious metals companies in the United States. Originally established to develop the rich silver deposits of the Coeur d’Alene district, Hecla has evolved into a diversified mining enterprise focused on the exploration, development and production of silver and gold, with by-product credits from lead and zinc.

The company’s principal operations are located in North America and Latin America.