Insider Selling: Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) CFO Sells 16,333 Shares of Stock

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $84,604.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,543,551.94. This trade represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of Hecla Mining stock opened at $5.09 on Friday. Hecla Mining has a twelve month low of $3.41 and a twelve month high of $7.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $5.42 and its 200 day moving average is $5.87. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.72 and a beta of 1.91.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. Research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HL has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Securities lowered their price objective on Hecla Mining from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,393,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $301,440,000 after buying an additional 774,000 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 54,680,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $391,510,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238,559 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 100.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,904,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $68,289,000 after purchasing an additional 39,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Hecla Mining by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,220,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,453,000 after purchasing an additional 502,094 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

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.