Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Sold by SCP Investment LP

SCP Investment LP decreased its stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 41.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. SCP Investment LP’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Hecla Mining by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,420,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,573 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted 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 purchasing an additional 2,238,559 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 0.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 34,644,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $168,027,000 after buying an additional 146,689 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the first quarter valued at $42,576,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 17.0% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 8,219,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,863,000 after buying an additional 1,196,515 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total transaction of $735,303.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,949. This trade represents a 38.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. National Bank Financial cut Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $10.25 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Securities cut their price objective on Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com lowered Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.94.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

NYSE HL opened at $5.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.87. The company has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of -142.75 and a beta of 2.00. Hecla Mining has a 1-year low of $3.33 and a 1-year high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a positive return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $245.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.01) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.0138 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is presently -125.00%.

Hecla Mining 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.