Robert Denis Brown Sells 24,650 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Stock

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) VP Robert Denis Brown sold 24,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $127,687.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 424,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,196,889.80. This trade represents a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of HL traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,950,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,586,852. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 105.12 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $3.41 and a 12-month high of $7.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $5.41 and its 200 day moving average is $5.88.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The firm had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.21 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. 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 presently 20.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 100.5% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,885,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,999,000 after acquiring an additional 7,960,826 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at $18,441,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 182.4% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,006,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,580,000 after buying an additional 3,233,116 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,238,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining in the third quarter worth approximately $14,623,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. National Bank Financial downgraded Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Roth Mkm dropped 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. TD Securities reduced 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 note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.