Ground Swell Capital LLC Invests $57,000 in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 11,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HL. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at about $234,000. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 217.8% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 70,215 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 48,119 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Hecla Mining by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,307,305 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,419,000 after purchasing an additional 363,554 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $146,000. Finally, BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $491,000. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL stock opened at $5.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $4.41 and a one year high of $7.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 103.22 and a beta of 1.57.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $261.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.50 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. Hecla Mining’s quarterly revenue was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.01) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is 9.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Catherine J. Boggs purchased 20,000 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $99,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 348,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,737,363.31. This trade represents a 6.09 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $84,604.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,543,551.94. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HL has been the subject of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $5.50 price target (down from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Monday, May 5th. StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Roth Mkm cut their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.20.

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.