Fox Run Management L.L.C. Buys 15,866 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 48.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 48,786 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,866 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 771.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 4,438 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, February 14th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Securities lowered Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.75.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

HL stock opened at $5.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 117.92 and a beta of 1.94. Hecla Mining has a 12 month low of $4.41 and a 12 month high of $7.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,543,551.94. The trade was a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $47,630.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 104,512 shares in the company, valued at $541,372.16. The trade was a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.