U S Global Investors Inc. Acquires 50,000 Shares of Hecla Mining Company $HL

U S Global Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 600,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $7,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Hecla Mining during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 2,977.5% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 4,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 385.5% in the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 4,515 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 3,585 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 148,372 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $2,225,580.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 347,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,211,030. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total value of $4,030,679.26. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 906,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,601,705.40. This represents a 18.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 374,460 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,655. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HL opened at $18.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.97 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.42. Hecla Mining Company has a fifty-two week low of $4.46 and a fifty-two week high of $21.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.15.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 16.35% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The company had revenue of $409.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. Hecla Mining’s revenue for the quarter was up 67.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were given a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is currently 3.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 2nd. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Monday, December 29th. CIBC increased their price target on Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Hecla Mining from $12.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.22.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, founded in 1891 and headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is one of the oldest publicly traded precious metals companies in the United States. Originally established to develop the rich silver deposits of the Coeur d’Alene district, Hecla has evolved into a diversified mining enterprise focused on the exploration, development and production of silver and gold, with by-product credits from lead and zinc.

The company’s principal operations are located in North America and Latin America.