Insider Selling: Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) VP Sells 9,195 Shares of Stock

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $47,630.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,372.16. The trade was a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of Hecla Mining stock traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, hitting $5.26. The company had a trading volume of 9,950,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,586,852. Hecla Mining has a 52 week low of $3.41 and a 52 week high of $7.68. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 105.12 and a beta of 1.91. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. Research analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is presently 20.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 173,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,297 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 248,727 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 2,367 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 10.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 18,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.