Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) CAO Michael L. Clary Sells 32,387 Shares

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HL opened at $5.23 on Thursday. 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 has a 1-year low of $3.41 and a 1-year high of $7.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.52 and a beta of 1.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.87.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.21 million. Research analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 771.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 4,438 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Hecla Mining by 30.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.