Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) VP Robert Denis Brown Sells 24,650 Shares

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) VP Robert Denis Brown sold 24,650 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $127,687.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 424,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,196,889.80. This represents a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

NYSE HL opened at $5.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 104.52 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.42 and a 200-day moving average of $5.87. Hecla Mining has a 52-week low of $3.41 and a 52-week high of $7.68.

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

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Securities cut their price objective on Hecla Mining from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. National Bank Financial cut Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.3% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 456,107 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,991 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the third quarter worth approximately $1,210,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $92,499,000 after buying an additional 711,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 378.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 897,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,985,000 after buying an additional 709,576 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

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.