Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Declares Dividend of $0.01

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) declared a dividend on Tuesday, August 6th, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of 0.0138 per share by the basic materials company on Thursday, September 5th. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. This is a positive change from Hecla Mining’s previous dividend of $0.002.

Hecla Mining has increased its dividend by an average of 15.4% per year over the last three years. Hecla Mining has a dividend payout ratio of 11.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Hecla Mining to earn $0.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.03 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.0%.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Hecla Mining stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.81. 12,704,061 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,284,735. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.27 and a beta of 2.01. Hecla Mining has a fifty-two week low of $3.33 and a fifty-two week high of $6.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a negative return on equity of 0.28% and a negative net margin of 12.22%. The company had revenue of $245.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert Denis Brown sold 24,792 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total value of $121,728.72. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 607,649 shares in the company, valued at $2,983,556.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total transaction of $57,343.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 393,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,019.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert Denis Brown sold 24,792 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total transaction of $121,728.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 607,649 shares in the company, valued at $2,983,556.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 67,105 shares of company stock worth $329,486 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on HL. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.75 to $7.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $4.60 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $10.25 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6.89.

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.