Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 54,692,482 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 142% from the previous session’s volume of 22,585,359 shares.The stock last traded at $14.43 and had previously closed at $14.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on HL. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $36.50 to $26.75 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Hecla Mining from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.12.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 0.8%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.38 and a 200-day moving average of $19.62. The company has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.12 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 4.94, a quick ratio of 4.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.03). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 17.41%.The firm had revenue of $411.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $407.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. Hecla Mining’s revenue was up 57.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is 2.44%.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Veracity Capital LLC grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 11,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Hecla Mining by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 31,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,786 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in 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.