Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. National Bank Financial raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday. National Bankshares set a $7.00 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hecla Mining has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.36.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 5.1%

HL opened at $7.59 on Friday. Hecla Mining has a twelve month low of $4.46 and a twelve month high of $7.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $304.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.93 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.02 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.66, for a total transaction of $126,047.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 59,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $395,670.60. The trade was a 24.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HL. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 661,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,249,000 after buying an additional 201,113 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,904,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $68,289,000 after purchasing an additional 39,421 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,046,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,736,673 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,437,000 after purchasing an additional 147,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,788,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,600,000 after purchasing an additional 885,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

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.