Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Cut to “Hold” at Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on HL. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, December 29th. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $12.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Roth Mkm set a $8.75 price target on shares of Hecla Mining and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.72.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:HL opened at $31.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.54 and a beta of 1.28. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $4.46 and a 12-month high of $32.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.50. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 16.35%.The firm had revenue of $409.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 67.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is 3.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total transaction of $1,144,118.29. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 216,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,746,604.31. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total value of $4,030,679.26. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 906,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,601,705.40. The trade was a 18.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 426,679 shares of company stock worth $7,678,773. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HL. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.7% during the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,219,902 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $75,261,000 after buying an additional 103,009 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System bought a new position in Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,150,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,483,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,256,000. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 176.4% during the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 41,519 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 26,499 shares during 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.