65,274 Shares in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Acquired by Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 65,274 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,961 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 173,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 2,297 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 18,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 2,909 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 13,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 2,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benin Management CORP lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 32,850 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of HL opened at $5.89 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.72 and a beta of 1.94. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.83. Hecla Mining has a twelve month low of $4.04 and a twelve month high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HL. TD Securities lowered Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note 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. Roth Mkm reduced their price target 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, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hecla Mining presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.75.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In related news, CEO Robert Krcmarov purchased 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.29 per share, for a total transaction of $34,755.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,755,518.24. This trade represents a 2.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 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 $47,630.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 104,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,372.16. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000. Corporate 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.