Pale Fire Capital SE Invests $41.36 Million in Hecla Mining Company $HL

Key Points

• Pale Fire Capital SE acquired 7,438,818 shares of Hecla Mining, valued at approximately $41.36 million, making it the 5th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, have also increased their stakes, with institutional ownership representing 63.01% of Hecla Mining's stock.
• Hecla Mining reported a 23.8% year-over-year revenue increase for the latest quarter, achieving $304.03 million in revenue and a net margin of 9.55%.

Pale Fire Capital SE bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,438,818 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $41,360,000. Hecla Mining comprises approximately 4.9% of Pale Fire Capital SE's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Pale Fire Capital SE owned 1.18% of Hecla Mining as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,883 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 25,370 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 2,457 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 45,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525 shares during the period. Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 21,561 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,018 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.66, for a total value of $126,047.16. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 59,410 shares in the company, valued at $395,670.60. The trade was a 24.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of HL traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.05. The stock had a trading volume of 16,873,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,986,380. Hecla Mining Company has a 52 week low of $4.46 and a 52 week high of $8.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $6.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.83. The company has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.28 and a beta of 1.27.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $304.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.93 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 5.51% and a net margin of 9.55%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.02 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Hecla Mining's payout ratio is presently 6.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HL. National Bankshares set a $7.00 price target on Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, June 13th. TD Securities lowered their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. CIBC raised their target price on Hecla Mining from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. National Bank Financial upgraded Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Roth Capital restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.36.

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.