Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 23,960,000 shares, a growth of 49.3% from the February 13th total of 16,050,000 shares. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 16,410,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. TD Securities lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $84,604.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,543,551.94. This trade represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $47,630.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,372.16. The trade was a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Hecla Mining Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HL traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.75. 20,156,038 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,722,704. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.84. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $4.04 and a 12-month high of $7.68. 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 capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.92 and a beta of 1.94.

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

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.00%.

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.