Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Reduces Position in Hecla Mining Company $HL

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,064,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 640,261 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 1.95% of Hecla Mining worth $250,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 68.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 150,109 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,881,000 after acquiring an additional 60,827 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter worth about $510,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter worth about $2,633,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 281,169 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,396,000 after acquiring an additional 47,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter worth about $6,271,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 12.1%

Shares of Hecla Mining stock opened at $14.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.53, a current ratio of 4.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $9.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.07 and a beta of 1.25. Hecla Mining Company has a fifty-two week low of $5.47 and a fifty-two week high of $34.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.00.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $411.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $407.63 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 57.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.04 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is presently 2.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright dropped their target price on Hecla Mining from $36.50 to $26.75 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research lowered Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Roth Mkm set a $13.00 price objective on Hecla Mining in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.25.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, founded in 1891 and headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is one of the oldest publicly traded precious metals companies in the United States. Originally established to develop the rich silver deposits of the Coeur d’Alene district, Hecla has evolved into a diversified mining enterprise focused on the exploration, development and production of silver and gold, with by-product credits from lead and zinc.

The company’s principal operations are located in North America and Latin America.