Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, silver miner Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Hecla's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Hecla facts

Headquarters (Founded) Coeur d'Alene, Idaho (1891)
Market Cap $2.66 billion
Industry Precious metals and minerals
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $418.81 million
Management

CEO Phillips Baker Jr. (since 2003)

CFO James Sabala (since 2008)
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) 2.6%
Cash/Debt $285.1 million / $6.3 million
Competitors

Coeur d'Alene (NYSE: CDE)

Pan American Silver (Nasdaq: PAAS)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 95% of the 1,187 members who have rated Hecla believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include AlNameless and AverageRob.

Earlier this year, AlNameless listed several of Hecla's positives:

Demand for silver exceeds supply. Hecla's silver production will increase significantly over the next 2 years. It has been able to lower production costs. It has a healthy balance sheet. All in all, it is worth a try.

Currently, Hecla even trades at a cheapish price-to-cash flow of 13.0. That represents a discount to other silver stocks like Coeur d'Alene (19.0), Pan American (17.5), and Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW) (49.8).

CAPS member AverageRob elaborates on the opportunity:

Mining company that mines ores such as silver, gold, zinc. Has a negative price per ounce mined of silver and with prices of silver having the potential to reach near 60 dollars this year I think [Hecla] is a great choice for precious meatl mining company. ... Plenty of room to grow in the next couple years in my opinion.

What do you think about Hecla, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!  

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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