U S Global Investors Inc. Purchases 300,000 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

U S Global Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 150.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 500,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. owned about 0.08% of Hecla Mining worth $2,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HL. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 7.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 456,107 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 51.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842,991 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter worth $1,210,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 5.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,865,241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $92,499,000 after acquiring an additional 711,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 378.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 897,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,985,000 after purchasing an additional 709,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of HL opened at $5.09 on Friday. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $3.41 and a 12-month high of $7.68. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.72 and a beta of 1.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.42 and its 200 day moving average is $5.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The firm 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $167,764.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 246,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,559.20. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Krcmarov bought 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.29 per share, for a total transaction of $34,755.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,755,518.24. This trade represents a 2.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on HL. 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 research note on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. National Bank Financial lowered Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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 assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.00.

Hecla Mining 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.