Bank of America Corp DE Sells 667,020 Shares of Hecla Mining Company $HL

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Hecla Mining stake by 33.3%, selling 667,020 shares in the first quarter while retaining 1.34 million shares valued at approximately $24.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Canaccord upgraded Hecla to “buy,” while other firms cut price targets. The stock carries an overall “Hold” rating with an average target price of $24.12.
• Hecla reported quarterly revenue of $333.85 million and earnings of $0.17 per share, both below analyst expectations, though revenue increased 9.8% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.0038 per share.

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its stake in Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 33.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,338,216 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 667,020 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.20% of Hecla Mining worth $24,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 74.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 93.5% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 134.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Hecla Mining from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. HC Wainwright reduced their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $36.50 to $26.75 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hecla Mining from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Hecla Mining from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.12.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HL opened at $18.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.51 and a beta of 1.32. Hecla Mining Company has a 52-week low of $7.40 and a 52-week high of $34.17. The firm's fifty day moving average is $15.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.38.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 18.91%. The firm had revenue of $333.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.09 earnings per share. Hecla Mining's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.04%.

Hecla Mining 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.

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