Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on HL. TD Securities reduced their target price on Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. National Bank Financial cut shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.38.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of Hecla Mining stock opened at $5.38 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.52 and a beta of 1.91. Hecla Mining has a 52-week low of $3.40 and a 52-week high of $7.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is 100.02%.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter worth $1,547,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,578,828 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,752,000 after acquiring an additional 127,756 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 185.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 140,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 91,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Hecla Mining by 100.5% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,885,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,999,000 after purchasing an additional 7,960,826 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hecla Mining

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.