Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Trading Down 7% After Earnings Miss

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)’s share price was down 7% on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $6.04 and last traded at $5.93. Approximately 4,258,712 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 16,128,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.37.

The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a positive return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 2.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HL shares. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,441,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 182.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,006,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,580,000 after purchasing an additional 3,233,116 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 4.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 54,680,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $391,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238,559 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at $14,623,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,991 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of -146.93 and a beta of 1.91. The company’s 50 day moving average is $5.44 and its 200-day moving average is $5.86.

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.