Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $28.20 and last traded at $27.4120, with a volume of 7787199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on HL. Zacks Research raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Monday, December 29th. CIBC raised their price objective on Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 2nd. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $8.75 price target on shares of Hecla Mining and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.75.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 2.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.16 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.09.

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

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were given a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is currently 3.23%.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In other news, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total transaction of $4,030,679.26. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 906,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,601,705.40. The trade was a 18.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 18,535 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $278,395.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 426,679 shares of company stock worth $7,678,773. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HL. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 2,390.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 2,390 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 255.6% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 4,425 shares during the last quarter. 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.