Insider Selling: Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) CFO Sells $84,604.94 in Stock

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of Hecla Mining 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 $84,604.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,543,551.94. This trade represents a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

NYSE:HL opened at $5.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Hecla Mining has a 1 year low of $3.51 and a 1 year high of $7.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.87. The company has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.72 and a beta of 1.91.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released 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 firm had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HL. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 771.8% in the 4th 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 period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HL. TD Securities decreased their target price on Hecla Mining from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. National Bank Financial downgraded Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. 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. StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.00.

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.