Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Trading Down 6.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) dropped 6.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $20.47 and last traded at $21.21. Approximately 23,687,691 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 28,076,227 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HL shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price target on Hecla Mining from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Hecla Mining from $16.50 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $16.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hecla Mining currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.00.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 6.2%

The firm has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.71 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.52 and a 200 day moving average of $15.52. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $448.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.75 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 16.35% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 82.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total value of $1,144,118.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 216,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,746,604.31. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HL. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 348,451 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,687,000 after acquiring an additional 115,059 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC increased its position in Hecla Mining by 215.9% during the fourth quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 32,101 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 73.3% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 195,022 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,742,000 after purchasing an additional 82,486 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $555,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,959,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,598,000 after buying an additional 134,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

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.