Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their target price on Hecla Mining from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Hecla Mining from $16.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $13.00 target price on Hecla Mining in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.25.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Hecla Mining stock opened at $18.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.40 and a beta of 1.26. Hecla Mining has a 52-week low of $4.68 and a 52-week high of $34.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 4.94.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.03). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 17.41%.The firm had revenue of $411.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $407.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.04 earnings per share. Hecla Mining’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HL. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,285,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,827,000 after acquiring an additional 739,360 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,959,276 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,894,000 after acquiring an additional 380,448 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 65,536 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 6,450 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 71.6% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 78,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 32,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 153,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.