Avalon Capital Management Lowers Stock Position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Avalon Capital Management lowered its position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 45.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 39,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 32,383 shares during the quarter. Avalon Capital Management’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,718,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,813,000 after purchasing an additional 456,107 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 51.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,258,000 after buying an additional 1,842,991 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining in the third quarter worth approximately $1,210,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 5.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,865,241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $92,499,000 after acquiring an additional 711,676 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 378.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 897,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,985,000 after purchasing an additional 709,576 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on HL. National Bank Financial lowered Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. TD Securities decreased their price objective on Hecla Mining from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Roth Mkm decreased their price target on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.00.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

NYSE:HL opened at $5.24 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $5.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.88. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $3.41 and a 12-month high of $7.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.72 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.02%.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In related news, CEO Robert Krcmarov purchased 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.29 per share, with a total value of $34,755.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,755,518.24. This trade represents a 2.02 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company 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.