Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Stock Price Down 3.3% – Time to Sell?

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)’s stock price traded down 3.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $5.71 and last traded at $5.68. 2,546,809 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 19,192,686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HL. StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Roth Mkm lowered their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Securities lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.75.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.12 and a beta of 1.94. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.83.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. 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 firm had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th 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 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hecla Mining news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $167,764.66. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 246,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,559.20. The trade was a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $84,604.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,543,551.94. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 173,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,297 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Hecla Mining by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 25,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 2,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 19.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 18,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

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.