Rodriguez Carlos Robert Aguiar Sells 5,170 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Stock

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) COO Rodriguez Carlos Robert Aguiar sold 5,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $26,780.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 137,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,582.04. This represents a 3.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE HL opened at $5.09 on Friday. Hecla Mining has a twelve month low of $3.41 and a twelve month high of $7.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 101.72 and a beta of 1.91.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The firm had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid 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 0.29%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is presently 20.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm cut their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities cut their target price on Hecla Mining from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. National Bank Financial cut Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 148.8% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 24,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 14,915 shares during the period. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Allianz Polska S.A. purchased a new position in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at $404,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased a new position in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at $1,547,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,578,828 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,752,000 after purchasing an additional 127,756 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.