Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,780,000 shares, a decline of 11.3% from the November 30th total of 18,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,780,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HL. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the second quarter worth about $54,000. SPC Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the second quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

NYSE:HL opened at $5.01 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -125.25 and a beta of 1.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $5.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.84. Hecla Mining has a fifty-two week low of $3.33 and a fifty-two week high of $7.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company posted ($0.01) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.0138 dividend. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is currently -125.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on HL. TD Securities cut their price target on Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. National Bank Financial downgraded Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hecla Mining presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.94.

Hecla Mining Company 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.