Sprott Inc. Sells 408,181 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Sprott Inc. reduced its position in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,413,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 408,181 shares during the quarter. Sprott Inc.’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $11,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HL. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 771.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 4,438 shares during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. TD Securities lowered their price target on Hecla Mining from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hecla Mining has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Krcmarov bought 6,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.29 per share, with a total value of $34,755.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,755,518.24. This represents a 2.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE HL opened at $5.22 on Wednesday. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $3.41 and a one year high of $7.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.32 and a beta of 1.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.41 and its 200-day moving average is $5.88.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

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.