Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $5.52, but opened at $5.26. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $5.33, with a volume of 1,153,531 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities decreased their target price on Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. National Bank Financial lowered Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $10.25 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.94.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 0.3 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $6.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 2.27% and a positive return on equity of 0.75%. The business had revenue of $245.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.03 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.01) EPS. Hecla Mining’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.0138 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is -125.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total transaction of $735,303.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,949. This trade represents a 38.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,420,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,573 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 26.5% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,624,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,880,000 after purchasing an additional 340,000 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the second quarter worth about $6,280,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Hecla Mining by 261.2% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 141,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 102,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 54,680,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $391,510,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238,559 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.