Congress Asset Management Co. Cuts Position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Congress Asset Management Co. reduced its position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 754,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,470 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $5,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HL. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Hecla Mining by 313.6% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 4,967 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Oak Family Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hecla Mining in the second quarter valued at about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE HL opened at $6.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -80.06 and a beta of 2.01. Hecla Mining has a 1 year low of $3.33 and a 1 year high of $7.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.80.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $245.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.0138 per share. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is an increase from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is -62.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on HL. StockNews.com cut Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $10.25 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total value of $735,303.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,949. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.