Vest Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 167,830 Hecla Mining Company $HL

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 167,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,031,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Hecla Mining by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 814.6% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 188,378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 167,781 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the third quarter worth about $196,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,150,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter worth about $198,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HL opened at $31.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $19.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.21. Hecla Mining Company has a fifty-two week low of $4.46 and a fifty-two week high of $31.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.90 and a beta of 1.28.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $409.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.60 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 16.35%.The business’s revenue was up 67.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.0%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total value of $4,030,679.26. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 906,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,601,705.40. The trade was a 18.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total value of $1,144,118.29. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 216,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,746,604.31. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 426,679 shares of company stock worth $7,678,773. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on HL shares. CIBC raised their target price on Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $12.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.75.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

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.