Hecla Mining Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:HL)

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 51,436 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 28% compared to the average volume of 40,185 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 18,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $278,395.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total transaction of $4,030,679.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 906,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,601,705.40. The trade was a 18.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 426,679 shares of company stock worth $7,678,773 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Hecla Mining during the third quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 2,390.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,390 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 255.6% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 4,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

HL traded up $1.98 during trading on Monday, hitting $24.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 17,220,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,408,404. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.01. The firm has a market cap of $16.37 billion, a PE ratio of 78.85 and a beta of 1.28. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $4.46 and a one year high of $24.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 16.35% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The firm had revenue of $409.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 67.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were given a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HL shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Roth Capital set a $8.75 price target on shares of Hecla Mining and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.22.

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.