Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes $2.04 Million Position in Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 367,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,042,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,457 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 45,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 21,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,018 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 42,854 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on HL. National Bank Financial raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $5.50 target price (down from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Monday, May 5th. TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. National Bankshares set a $7.00 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.07.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

HL stock opened at $5.83 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.00 and a beta of 1.47. Hecla Mining Company has a 12 month low of $4.41 and a 12 month high of $7.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.62.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.87% and a net margin of 7.13%. The firm had revenue of $261.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share. Hecla Mining’s quarterly revenue was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.09%.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.66, for a total transaction of $126,047.16. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 59,410 shares in the company, valued at $395,670.60. This represents a 24.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine J. Boggs purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.99 per share, with a total value of $99,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 348,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,737,363.31. This trade represents a 6.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.