Quantbot Technologies LP Boosts Holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 924.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 611,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 552,076 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $3,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $184,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,225,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,018,000 after buying an additional 24,828 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 42,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 3,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 335,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after buying an additional 154,307 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Hecla Mining stock opened at $5.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.12 and a beta of 1.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.56 and its 200 day moving average is $5.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Hecla Mining has a 52-week low of $4.23 and a 52-week high of $7.68.

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

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HL shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. Roth Mkm lowered their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In other news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $84,604.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,543,551.94. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $47,630.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 104,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,372.16. The trade was a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.