EP Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 29,667 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $146,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at about $491,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 25,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 2,457 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 263.1% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 217,282 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 157,436 shares during the period. Arrowroot Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at about $108,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at about $669,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $5.50 target price (down previously from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Monday, May 5th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.20.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of HL opened at $4.78 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.62 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Hecla Mining has a 12 month low of $4.41 and a 12 month high of $7.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.52.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $261.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.50 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.01) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is 9.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $167,764.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 246,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,559.20. This trade represents a 11.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert Krcmarov acquired 6,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.29 per share, with a total value of $34,755.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,755,518.24. This represents a 2.02% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

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.