Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HL. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price objective on Hecla Mining from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Hecla Mining from $16.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $13.00 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.63.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

NYSE HL opened at $17.90 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.10. The company has a market capitalization of $12.00 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54 and a beta of 1.22. Hecla Mining has a 1 year low of $4.46 and a 1 year high of $34.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total transaction of $1,144,118.29. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 216,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,746,604.31. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 20.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,285,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,827,000 after purchasing an additional 739,360 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Hecla Mining by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,959,276 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,894,000 after buying an additional 380,448 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 65,536 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 6,450 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Hecla Mining by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 697,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,180,000 after buying an additional 27,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Hecla Mining by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,285,776 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,702,000 after buying an additional 8,535 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

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.