Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $18.50, but opened at $16.80. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $17.1750, with a volume of 10,414,306 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HL shares. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Hecla Mining from $16.50 to $36.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Roth Mkm set a $13.00 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hecla Mining presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.63.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 2.5%

The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.42 and a 200-day moving average of $17.75. The stock has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05 and a beta of 1.22.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total value of $1,144,118.29. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 216,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,746,604.31. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HL. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $23,827,000 after purchasing an additional 739,360 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 24.1% during 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 worth $10,894,000 after purchasing an additional 380,448 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its position in Hecla Mining by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 134,891 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 5,082 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Hecla Mining by 131.2% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 258,574 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,549,000 after buying an additional 146,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 65,536 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 6,450 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.