Traders Purchase Large Volume of Hecla Mining Call Options (NYSE:HL)

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 16,021 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 43% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,165 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total transaction of $735,303.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,949. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HL. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 313.6% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 4,967 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 2.0 %

HL opened at $7.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.20 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $6.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.29. Hecla Mining has a fifty-two week low of $3.33 and a fifty-two week high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 5.56% and a negative return on equity of 0.42%. The business had revenue of $245.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.0138 dividend. This is a positive change from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is currently -33.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HL shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $10.25 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.56.

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.