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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 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 set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Roth Mkm cut their price target on 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 cut Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.75.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.72 and a beta of 1.94.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The company had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. Equities research analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $47,630.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,372.16. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Krcmarov bought 6,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.29 per share, for a total transaction of $34,755.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,755,518.24. This represents a 2.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,393,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $301,440,000 after purchasing an additional 774,000 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Hecla Mining by 100.5% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,885,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,999,000 after buying an additional 7,960,826 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,904,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $68,289,000 after buying an additional 39,421 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,220,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,453,000 after buying an additional 502,094 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,098,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,944,000 after acquiring an additional 289,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

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.