Congress Asset Management Co. Trims Stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 0.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 795,006 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,376 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $4,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 100.5% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,885,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,999,000 after acquiring an additional 7,960,826 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $18,441,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 182.4% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,006,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,580,000 after purchasing an additional 3,233,116 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 1,331.9% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,997,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,858,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth $7,855,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 2.6%

HL opened at $6.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $4.41 and a one year high of $7.68. The company has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 125.63 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.44.

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

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $5.50 price target (down previously from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Roth Mkm dropped their price target 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. Wall Street Zen raised Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.13.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In other news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.66, for a total value of $126,047.16. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 59,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $395,670.60. The trade was a 24.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Catherine J. Boggs purchased 20,000 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.99 per share, with a total value of $99,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 348,169 shares in the company, valued at $1,737,363.31. The trade was a 6.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.