Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on HL. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $10.25 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.56.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 5.3 %

Shares of HL opened at $6.80 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of -45.33 and a beta of 2.00. Hecla Mining has a 12 month low of $3.33 and a 12 month high of $7.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total value of $735,303.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,949. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Hecla Mining during the first quarter valued at about $42,576,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the second quarter worth about $19,714,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Hecla Mining by 6.8% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 60,513,592 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $291,070,000 after buying an additional 3,827,580 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,761,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,420,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,573 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.