Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.6250.

HL has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $16.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 20.9% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 24.1% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 3.9% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 134,891 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 5,082 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 10.9% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 65,536 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 6,450 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 4.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 697,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,180,000 after acquiring an additional 27,991 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 2.5%

HL opened at $17.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.72. The company has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.42 and its 200-day moving average is $17.81. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $4.46 and a one year high of $34.17.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is 2.04%.

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.