Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.55, but opened at $23.55. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $22.7690, with a volume of 4,861,375 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm reissued a “sell” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. CIBC increased their target price on Hecla Mining from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 price target on Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.00.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 7.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.34. The company has a market cap of $15.48 billion, a PE ratio of 74.59 and a beta of 1.28.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 16.35% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The firm had revenue of $409.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Hecla Mining’s revenue for the quarter was up 67.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In other news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 148,372 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $2,225,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 347,402 shares in the company, valued at $5,211,030. The trade was a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total transaction of $1,144,118.29. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 216,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,746,604.31. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 426,679 shares of company stock valued at $7,678,773 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HL. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,285,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,827,000 after acquiring an additional 739,360 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 24.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,959,276 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,894,000 after purchasing an additional 380,448 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 125,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323,094 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,935,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pure Portfolios Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the second quarter worth $315,000. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

About Hecla Mining

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.