Why Hecla Mining Stock Zoomed 12% Higher Today

Key Points

• The miner has been tapped to join a notable small-cap stock index.

• This follows encouraging quarterly results published by the company in early August.

• 10 stocks we like better than Hecla Mining ›

Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) stock was quite a winner on Monday, but not because of anything the company extracted from the ground. Rather, investors piled into the mining company because of its ascension to a closely followed stock index. This boosted the company's share price by more than 12%, which made it quite the outperformer next to the S&P 500's (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) 0.2% rise.

Index ascension

That news hit the headlines after market hours Friday, after being divulged in a press release from index company S&P Global. Every quarter S&P Global's S&P Dow Jones Indices unit makes adjustments to its slate of influential stock indexes, and Hecla was involved in the latest set of changes.

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Specifically, Hecla will become a component of the S&P SmallCap 600 index. It is one of 10 stocks tapped for inclusion, collectively replacing another 10 that are being deleted for various reasons. Other S&P SmallCap 600 members-to-be include fast food sector mainstay Wendy's and veteran staffing specialist ManpowerGroup.

As with all S&P Global index adjustments for this quarter, that for Hecla will take effect prior to the start of trading on Monday, Sept. 22.

Upward momentum sustained

Inclusion on the S&P SmallCap 600 added to the already-positive investor sentiment on Hecla. The stock has been a popular title since the company reported its second-quarter results in early August; these revealed a nearly 24% year-over-year increase in revenue (to $304 million), and a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net profit that more than doubled on a per-share basis -- to $0.09 per share from $0.04.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends S&P Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.