Ballentine Partners LLC Sells 3,537 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Ballentine Partners LLC lessened its position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,537 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $58,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Hecla Mining by 771.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 4,438 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HL. National Bank Financial cut Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com lowered Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.94.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

NYSE HL opened at $5.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of -137.38 and a beta of 1.91. Hecla Mining has a 52-week low of $3.33 and a 52-week high of $7.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.86.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $245.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.03 million. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 2.27% and a positive return on equity of 0.75%. The company’s revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.01) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.0138 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is currently -125.00%.

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.