Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) COO Sells $26,780.60 in Stock

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) COO Rodriguez Carlos Robert Aguiar sold 5,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $26,780.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.26. The stock had a trading volume of 9,950,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,586,852. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 105.12 and a beta of 1.91. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $3.41 and a one 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 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 currently 20.00%.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 100.5% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,885,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,999,000 after purchasing an additional 7,960,826 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter worth $18,441,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 182.4% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,006,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,580,000 after purchasing an additional 3,233,116 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 54,680,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $391,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter valued at $14,623,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm reduced 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 note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.