Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Upgraded at National Bank Financial

National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on HL. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $5.50 target price (down from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.13.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL stock opened at $6.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.32 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.46. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $4.41 and a one year high of $7.68.

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

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.09%.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In other news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.66, for a total value of $126,047.16. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 59,410 shares in the company, valued at $395,670.60. The trade was a 24.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Catherine J. Boggs acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.99 per share, with a total value of $99,800.00. Following the purchase, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HL. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 947,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,654,000 after purchasing an additional 43,023 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 800,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,930,000 after acquiring an additional 46,020 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 368,274 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 49,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 202.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 76,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 50,969 shares in the last quarter. 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.