Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Purchased by Byrne Asset Management LLC

Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 131.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,508 shares during the quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $73,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HL. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Hecla Mining by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 947,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,654,000 after purchasing an additional 43,023 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in Hecla Mining by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 800,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,930,000 after purchasing an additional 46,020 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in Hecla Mining by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 368,274 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 49,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Hecla Mining by 202.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 76,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 50,969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Catherine J. Boggs acquired 20,000 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $99,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 348,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,737,363.31. This trade represents a 6.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.66, for a total value of $126,047.16. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 59,410 shares in the company, valued at $395,670.60. This represents a 24.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Hecla Mining stock opened at $6.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.32 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $5.47 and a 200-day moving average of $5.46. Hecla Mining has a 52 week low of $4.41 and a 52 week high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $261.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.50 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HL. National Bank Financial raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $5.50 price objective (down previously from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.13.

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.