Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) CAO Sells $167,764.66 in Stock

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) 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 value of $167,764.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 246,440 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,559.20. The trade was a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HL opened at $5.14 on Friday. Hecla Mining has a 1-year low of $3.51 and a 1-year high of $7.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 102.72 and a beta of 1.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.42 and its 200-day moving average is $5.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth approximately $144,000. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 148.8% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 24,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 14,915 shares during the period. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Allianz Polska S.A. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth approximately $404,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,547,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% 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.