Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Short Interest Up 10.8% in September

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,560,000 shares, a growth of 10.8% from the September 15th total of 15,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,990,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 0.6 %

HL stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $6.82. 5,231,094 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,732,959. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Hecla Mining has a fifty-two week low of $3.33 and a fifty-two week high of $7.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $6.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.67. The company has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.20 and a beta of 2.01.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 5.56% and a negative return on equity of 0.42%. The business had revenue of $245.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.0138 dividend. This is an increase from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is presently -33.33%.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In other 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 transaction of $735,303.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,949. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,420,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,573 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter valued at $727,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,624,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,880,000 after buying an additional 340,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter worth $6,280,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on HL. StockNews.com cut shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.25 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.56.

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.