Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Up to $4.74

Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $4.74, but opened at $4.91. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $4.92, with a volume of 1,368,143 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Hecla Mining from $4.60 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. National Bank Financial reaffirmed an “outperform market weight” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Hecla Mining to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.68.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.72 and a 200 day moving average of $4.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.26 and a beta of 2.21.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $160.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.51 million. Hecla Mining had a negative return on equity of 0.27% and a negative net margin of 11.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.02 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a $0.006 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is currently -20.00%.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 19.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 185,990 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 30,379 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter worth $1,724,000. Fore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the first quarter worth $202,000. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 19.8% in the first quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,070,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,769,000 after buying an additional 507,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 148.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 23,457 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

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.