Eastern Bank Invests $293,000 in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 44,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,420,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,573 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 1st quarter worth approximately $727,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 148.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 23,457 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 26.5% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,624,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,880,000 after buying an additional 340,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Hecla Mining in the second quarter worth approximately $6,280,000. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

HL opened at $7.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.77 and a beta of 2.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.36 and a 200-day moving average of $5.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $3.33 and a 12-month high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a negative return on equity of 0.42% and a negative net margin of 5.56%. The firm had revenue of $245.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.0138 per share. This is a boost from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -33.33%.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total value of $735,303.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 173,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,949. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $10.25 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm decreased their price target on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.56.

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.