Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Stock Price Down 4.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) fell 4.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $7.18 and last traded at $7.19. 2,368,624 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 8,781,684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HL has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.25 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hecla Mining has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.56.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -46.60 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $6.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.75.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a negative return on equity of 0.42% and a negative net margin of 5.56%. The business had revenue of $245.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.0138 per share. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is -33.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total transaction of $735,303.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 173,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,949. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 313.6% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 4,967 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the second quarter worth $41,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the third quarter worth $49,000. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Hecla Mining during the second quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Oak Family Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. 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.