Short Interest in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Decreases By 8.5%

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was the target of a large drop in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 18,910,000 shares, a drop of 8.5% from the November 15th total of 20,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HL has been the topic of several recent research reports. National Bank Financial cut shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hecla Mining currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.94.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 2.4 %

HL opened at $5.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $6.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.87. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $3.33 and a one year high of $7.68. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -135.00 and a beta of 1.92.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a positive return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 2.27%. The business had revenue of $245.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.0138 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is -125.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 173,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,949. This represents a 38.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the second quarter valued at approximately $19,714,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 54,680,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $391,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238,559 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at $14,623,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,258,000 after buying an additional 1,842,991 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 2nd quarter worth $6,280,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hecla Mining

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.