Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Upgraded by National Bank Financial to “Hold” Rating

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was upgraded by stock analysts at National Bank Financial to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

HL has been the subject of several other research reports. Roth Mkm lowered their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $5.50 target price (down previously from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Monday, May 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.13.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 0.4%

HL stock opened at $6.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.32 and a beta of 1.44. Hecla Mining has a twelve month low of $4.41 and a twelve month high of $7.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.47 and a 200-day moving average of $5.46.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $261.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.01) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hecla Mining news, Director Catherine J. Boggs bought 20,000 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.99 per share, with a total value of $99,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 348,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,737,363.31. The trade was a 6.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.66, for a total transaction of $126,047.16. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 59,410 shares in the company, valued at $395,670.60. The trade was a 24.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 100.5% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,885,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,999,000 after purchasing an additional 7,960,826 shares during the period. Pale Fire Capital SE acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,360,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,441,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,410,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 182.4% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,006,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,580,000 after purchasing an additional 3,233,116 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Hecla Mining

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.