BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 687,376 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 76.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 209,885 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 687,376 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $1,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 25,370 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 2,457 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 263.1% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 217,282 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 157,436 shares during the last quarter. Arrowroot Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $108,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at $669,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,098,558 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,944,000 after purchasing an additional 289,865 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $47,630.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $541,372.16. The trade was a 8.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Catherine J. Boggs acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.99 per share, with a total value of $99,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 348,169 shares in the company, valued at $1,737,363.31. The trade was a 6.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Hecla Mining stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $5.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,669,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,245,667. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $4.41 and a 12-month high of $7.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.22 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $5.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.43.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $261.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $238.50 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.01) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bank Financial upgraded Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. 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. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $5.50 target price (down previously from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.13.

About Hecla Mining

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.