Weiss Asset Management LP Sells 388,040 Shares of Hecla Mining Company $HL

Weiss Asset Management LP decreased its position in shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) by 45.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 458,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 388,040 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $8,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 74.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the period. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE HL opened at $15.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 4.53 and a current ratio of 4.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.48. Hecla Mining Company has a twelve month low of $5.62 and a twelve month high of $34.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of 36.87 and a beta of 1.29.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.03). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $411.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $407.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 57.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright cut their price target on Hecla Mining from $36.50 to $26.75 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Hecla Mining from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.12.

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.