Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 39,421 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,904,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,421 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $68,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 771.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 4,438 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

NYSE:HL opened at $5.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.32 and a beta of 1.77. Hecla Mining has a 1 year low of $4.41 and a 1 year high of $7.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.73.

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

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is 20.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Securities downgraded Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 246,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,559.20. This represents a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $84,604.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 297,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,551.94. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.