U S Global Investors Inc. Purchases 300,000 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

U S Global Investors Inc. lifted its position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 150.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 500,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares during the quarter. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $2,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 10.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 114,721 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 10,404 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Hecla Mining by 37.6% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 4,215 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,982 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at $871,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 37,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 3,037 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Krcmarov bought 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $1,755,518.24. This trade represents a 2.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $47,630.10. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,372.16. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE:HL opened at $5.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.87. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.72 and a beta of 1.91. Hecla Mining has a fifty-two week low of $3.41 and a fifty-two week high of $7.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released 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). The business had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. Analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 20.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Roth Mkm dropped 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. TD Securities decreased their price objective on Hecla Mining from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.00.

Hecla Mining Company 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.