Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Short Interest Update

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,540,000 shares, a decrease of 5.9% from the July 31st total of 15,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on HL. Roth Mkm cut their price target on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.25 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. CIBC increased their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.75 to $7.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Hecla Mining to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Robert Denis Brown sold 24,792 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total transaction of $121,728.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 607,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,983,556.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hecla Mining news, VP Robert Denis Brown sold 24,792 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total transaction of $121,728.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 607,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,983,556.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total value of $57,343.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 393,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,019.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,105 shares of company stock valued at $329,486. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HL. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 313.6% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 4,967 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Oak Family Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 2,916 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 9.4 %

Hecla Mining stock traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,200,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,279,768. Hecla Mining has a fifty-two week low of $3.33 and a fifty-two week high of $6.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.73 and a beta of 2.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.14.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a negative return on equity of 0.42% and a negative net margin of 5.56%. The business had revenue of $245.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.0138 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. This is a positive change from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -33.33%.

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.