Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Purchased by Perritt Capital Management Inc

Perritt Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 67,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,206 shares during the quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 221.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 632,744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,220,000 after acquiring an additional 435,634 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 353,638 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,359,000 after purchasing an additional 15,598 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Hecla Mining by 51.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,991 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Hecla Mining during the third quarter worth $398,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 378.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 897,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,985,000 after buying an additional 709,576 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL opened at $5.47 on Wednesday. Hecla Mining has a 1 year low of $4.41 and a 1 year high of $7.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 109.32 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.83.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.21 million. On average, analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 104,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,372.16. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $84,604.94. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HL shares. National Bank Financial upgraded Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hecla Mining has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.75.

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.