Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Rating Increased to Hold at National Bank Financial

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was upgraded by research analysts at National Bank Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities decreased their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $5.50 target price (down previously from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hecla Mining has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.13.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of Hecla Mining stock opened at $6.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 120.32 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Hecla Mining has a 52 week low of $4.41 and a 52 week high of $7.68. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.46.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $261.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.50 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.66, for a total value of $126,047.16. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 59,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $395,670.60. This trade represents a 24.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Catherine J. Boggs purchased 20,000 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $99,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 348,169 shares in the company, valued at $1,737,363.31. This represents a 6.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Haven Private LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.