Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Trading Up 3.6% – Here’s What Happened

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)’s stock price shot up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $21.15 and last traded at $21.1340. 20,453,515 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 26,345,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $16.50 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Roth Mkm set a $13.00 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 target price on Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.63.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.13 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total transaction of $1,144,118.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 216,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,746,604.31. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were 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 $17,601,705.40. This trade represents a 18.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HL. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,881,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $603,566,000 after acquiring an additional 12,197,740 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 13.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,349,059 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $863,324,000 after purchasing an additional 8,452,401 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $284,651,000 after purchasing an additional 6,472,566 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 86.7% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,715,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $244,003,000 after purchasing an additional 5,906,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at about $88,417,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.