South Dakota Investment Council Makes New Investment in Hecla Mining Company $HL

South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 59,985 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Veracity Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 11,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Hecla Mining by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 31,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,786 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 26.9% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL stock opened at $14.12 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $15.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.24. The stock has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43 and a beta of 1.29. Hecla Mining Company has a 1 year low of $5.62 and a 1 year high of $34.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 4.53 and a current ratio of 4.94.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.03). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $411.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $407.63 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright lowered their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $36.50 to $26.75 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Hecla Mining from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Hecla Mining from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.12.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, founded in 1891 and headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is one of the oldest publicly traded precious metals companies in the United States. Originally established to develop the rich silver deposits of the Coeur d’Alene district, Hecla has evolved into a diversified mining enterprise focused on the exploration, development and production of silver and gold, with by-product credits from lead and zinc.

The company’s principal operations are located in North America and Latin America.