Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Takes $320,000 Position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 65,274 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 771.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 4,438 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $167,764.66. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 246,440 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,559.20. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 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 transaction of $84,604.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,543,551.94. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HL opened at $5.89 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $5.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.72 and a beta of 1.94. 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 has a 52-week low of $4.04 and a 52-week high of $7.68.

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

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on HL. TD Securities cut shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Roth Mkm cut their target price 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, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.75.

About Hecla Mining

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.