Wall Street Zen Upgrades Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) to Strong-Buy

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on HL. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Roth Mkm set a $13.00 price objective on Hecla Mining in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $16.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.63.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HL opened at $17.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.05 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.87. Hecla Mining has a fifty-two week low of $4.46 and a fifty-two week high of $34.17. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total transaction of $1,144,118.29. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 216,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,746,604.31. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HL. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 74.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 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.