Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Stock Price Up 8.8% – Should You Buy?

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) shares were up 8.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $23.68 and last traded at $23.4510. Approximately 31,229,386 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 30,711,701 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HL has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Hecla Mining from $16.50 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 2nd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 8.8%

The firm has a market cap of $15.71 billion, a PE ratio of 75.65 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

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

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 18,535 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $278,395.70. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 426,679 shares of company stock valued at $7,678,773. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HL. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 32.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,881,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $603,566,000 after buying an additional 12,197,740 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,349,059 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $863,324,000 after acquiring an additional 8,452,401 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 38.0% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,524,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $284,651,000 after acquiring an additional 6,472,566 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 577.8% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,808,787 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $82,386,000 after purchasing an additional 5,804,298 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 14.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,485,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $417,278,000 after purchasing an additional 4,453,706 shares in 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.