Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $20.57 and last traded at $20.3770, with a volume of 5111642 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HL shares. Roth Capital set a $8.75 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Monday. CIBC increased their price objective on Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.22.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.40 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.35.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $409.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.60 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 16.35% and a return on equity of 7.87%. Hecla Mining’s revenue for the quarter was up 67.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is presently 3.23%.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In other Hecla Mining news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 18,535 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $278,395.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter worth $2,964,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 146.8% during the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 647,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,601,000 after acquiring an additional 385,283 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the first quarter worth about $187,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,256,000. Finally, Pale Fire Capital SE bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,360,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

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.