Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.25 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.56.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 5.3 %

Shares of HL opened at $6.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.29. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $3.33 and a one year high of $7.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.33 and a beta of 2.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.47.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $245.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.80 million. Hecla Mining had a negative return on equity of 0.42% and a negative net margin of 5.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total value of $735,303.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,175,949. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,420,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,573 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Hecla Mining during the first quarter worth $727,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Hecla Mining by 148.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 23,457 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at $13,761,000. Finally, SCP Investment LP grew its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. SCP Investment LP now owns 38,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.