Short Interest in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Decreases By 6.3%

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,720,000 shares, a decline of 6.3% from the December 15th total of 16,780,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,890,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at about $19,714,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,238,559 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $14,623,000. FMR LLC boosted its position 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 worth $36,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,991 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,280,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

HL traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,526,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,740,050. Hecla Mining has a twelve month low of $3.33 and a twelve month high of $7.68. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $245.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.03 million. Hecla Mining had a positive return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 2.27%. The business’s revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.01) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.0138 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is presently -125.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on HL shares. StockNews.com lowered Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hecla Mining presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.94.

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.