Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Takes Position in Hecla Mining Company $HL

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 41,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $764,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 74.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 93.5% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the period. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

HL stock opened at $14.53 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.66. The stock has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.44 and a beta of 1.29. Hecla Mining Company has a 1 year low of $5.62 and a 1 year high of $34.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 4.94 and a quick ratio of 4.53.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $411.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $407.63 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 16.89%. Hecla Mining’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.04 EPS.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HL shares. HC Wainwright cut their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $36.50 to $26.75 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Hecla Mining from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hecla Mining from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hecla Mining currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.12.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, founded in 1891 and headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is one of the oldest publicly traded precious metals companies in the United States. Originally established to develop the rich silver deposits of the Coeur d’Alene district, Hecla has evolved into a diversified mining enterprise focused on the exploration, development and production of silver and gold, with by-product credits from lead and zinc.

The company’s principal operations are located in North America and Latin America.