Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) VP Sells $47,630.10 in Stock

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $47,630.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 104,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,372.16. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE HL opened at $5.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $3.41 and a 12-month high of $7.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.52 and a beta of 1.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $5.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.87.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. 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 net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The company had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.21 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 148.8% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 24,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 14,915 shares during the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Allianz Polska S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at $404,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased a new position in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,547,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,578,828 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,752,000 after purchasing an additional 127,756 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on HL shares. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.00.

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.