Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Downgraded by Canaccord Genuity Group to “Hold”

Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen raised Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 2nd. Zacks Research raised Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Roth Mkm set a $8.75 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.72.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of HL stock opened at $31.79 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.39. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $4.46 and a 12-month high of $32.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $21.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.54 and a beta of 1.28.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 16.35% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The company had revenue of $409.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 67.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In other news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 148,372 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $2,225,580.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 347,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,211,030. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total value of $1,144,118.29. Following the sale, the vice president owned 216,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,746,604.31. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 426,679 shares of company stock worth $7,678,773. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HL. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,786 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 11,188 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 7.8% during the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 12,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,023 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, founded in 1891 and headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is one of the oldest publicly traded precious metals companies in the United States. Originally established to develop the rich silver deposits of the Coeur d’Alene district, Hecla has evolved into a diversified mining enterprise focused on the exploration, development and production of silver and gold, with by-product credits from lead and zinc.

The company’s principal operations are located in North America and Latin America.