Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) CEO Robert Krcmarov Purchases 6,570 Shares

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) CEO Robert Krcmarov purchased 6,570 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.29 per share, for a total transaction of $34,755.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,755,518.24. This represents a 2.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 6.3 %

HL stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.28. 21,882,243 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,684,980. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $5.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.32 and a beta of 1.91. Hecla Mining has a 1 year low of $3.40 and a 1 year high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The company had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HL shares. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

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