Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.94.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HL shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. TD Securities decreased their price objective on Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.0% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 248,727 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after acquiring an additional 2,367 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 19.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 18,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 338,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 13,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 2,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,982 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Hecla Mining stock opened at $4.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Hecla Mining has a 52-week low of $3.33 and a 52-week high of $7.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -122.75 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.76 and a 200 day moving average of $5.84.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a positive return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $245.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.01) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.0138 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is presently -125.00%.

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.