Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Trading 6.5% Higher – What’s Next?

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)’s stock price traded up 6.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $20.33 and last traded at $20.3560. 2,181,252 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 25,862,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on HL shares. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Hecla Mining from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hecla Mining from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, August 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.82.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 2.4%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.12. The company has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.39 and a beta of 1.38.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business posted $0.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 74.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 93.5% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 134.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

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.