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

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,340,000 shares, a drop of 8.3% from the August 15th total of 14,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In other news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total value of $57,343.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 393,894 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,019.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total value of $735,303.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 173,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,949. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total value of $57,343.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 393,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,019.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 175,717 shares of company stock worth $1,064,789. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,420,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,573 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter valued at about $727,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 148.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 23,457 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter valued at about $13,761,000. Finally, SCP Investment LP grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. SCP Investment LP now owns 38,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

HL opened at $6.53 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of -43.53 and a beta of 2.00. Hecla Mining has a 1 year low of $3.33 and a 1 year high of $6.99.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a negative return on equity of 0.42% and a negative net margin of 5.56%. The firm had revenue of $245.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.0138 dividend. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. This is an increase from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -33.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on HL. Cibc World Mkts raised Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. CIBC raised their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.75 to $7.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $10.25 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.45.

About Hecla Mining

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.