Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Stock Holdings Lessened by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. reduced its holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $96,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $44,813,000 after purchasing an additional 456,107 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,991 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 202.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 76,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 50,969 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,210,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $92,499,000 after purchasing an additional 711,676 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of the business’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 transaction of $167,764.66. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 246,440 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,559.20. The trade was a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the business’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 transaction of $47,630.10. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 104,512 shares in the company, valued at $541,372.16. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL opened at $5.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $5.50 and its 200-day moving average is $5.84. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $4.04 and a 12-month high of $7.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.92 and a beta of 1.94.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on HL shares. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities cut shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.75.

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.