Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Sold by Dark Forest Capital Management LP

Dark Forest Capital Management LP reduced its position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 26.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 262,465 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 92,898 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $1,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HL. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Hecla Mining by 30.7% in the 4th 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 period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 173,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,297 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 28.6% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 13,229 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 2,944 shares during the period. Benin Management CORP boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 32,850 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 22,203 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 3,548 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 1.3 %

Hecla Mining stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $5.78. 8,369,926 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,892,352. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $4.41 and a 12-month high of $7.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 115.52 and a beta of 1.77.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 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 company had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. Research analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.00%.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In other Hecla Mining news, CEO Robert Krcmarov bought 6,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.29 per share, for a total transaction of $34,755.30. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 297,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,543,551.94. The trade was a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, February 14th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities lowered Hecla Mining from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given 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 price target 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.