HudBay Minerals (NYSE:HBM) Cut to “Hold” at Natl Bk Canada

Natl Bk Canada downgraded shares of HudBay Minerals (NYSE:HBM) (TSE:HBM) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on HBM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of HudBay Minerals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. CIBC restated an “outperform” rating on shares of HudBay Minerals in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group initiated coverage on HudBay Minerals in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. National Bank Financial lowered HudBay Minerals from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of HudBay Minerals in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, HudBay Minerals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.00.

HudBay Minerals Price Performance

HBM opened at $23.69 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.81. HudBay Minerals has a 12-month low of $5.95 and a 12-month high of $28.74. The firm has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

HudBay Minerals (NYSE:HBM) (TSE:HBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $346.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.16 million. HudBay Minerals had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 22.38%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HudBay Minerals will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GMT Capital Corp purchased a new stake in HudBay Minerals during the second quarter worth approximately $337,809,000. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of HudBay Minerals in the 2nd quarter valued at $154,359,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of HudBay Minerals in the 3rd quarter valued at $123,736,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in HudBay Minerals during the 2nd quarter worth $61,432,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in HudBay Minerals in the second quarter valued at $60,053,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.82% of the company’s stock.

HudBay Minerals Company Profile

HudBay Minerals Inc is a Canada-based mining company engaged in the exploration, development and production of base and precious metals. Its primary products include copper, zinc, gold and silver concentrates, which are sold to smelters and refiners worldwide. The company’s operations span multiple stages of the mining cycle, from resource definition and feasibility studies to mine construction, extraction and reclamation.

The company traces its roots back to 1927, when it was established as Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting Co Limited.