Swiss National Bank Has $5.78 Million Position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,176,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.19% of Hecla Mining worth $5,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,718,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,813,000 after acquiring an additional 456,107 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Hecla Mining by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,991 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 50,969 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,210,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hecla Mining by 5.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,865,241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $92,499,000 after buying an additional 711,676 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In related news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $84,604.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $167,764.66. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 246,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,559.20. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:HL opened at $5.76 on Monday. Hecla Mining has a 52 week low of $4.23 and a 52 week high of $7.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.12 and a beta of 1.94.

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

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

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

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.