Blueshift Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 37,532 Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 37,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $36,258,000 after buying an additional 1,842,991 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 202.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 76,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 50,969 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,210,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 137,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 58,650 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Hecla Mining stock opened at $5.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.84. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 115.12 and a beta of 1.94. Hecla Mining has a 1-year low of $4.23 and a 1-year high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly 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). The company 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, analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The business 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 $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is 20.00%.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 104,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,372.16. This trade represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert Krcmarov bought 6,570 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.29 per share, for a total transaction of $34,755.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,755,518.24. The trade was a 2.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Securities cut shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm decreased 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.