Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) CAO Michael L. Clary Sells 32,387 Shares

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $167,764.66. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 246,440 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,559.20. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of Hecla Mining stock opened at $5.23 on Thursday. Hecla Mining has a 52-week low of $3.41 and a 52-week 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $5.42 and a 200-day moving average of $5.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. Equities research analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,718,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,813,000 after purchasing an additional 456,107 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,991 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,210,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,865,241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $92,499,000 after purchasing an additional 711,676 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 378.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 897,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,985,000 after purchasing an additional 709,576 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. Roth Mkm decreased their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.00.

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.