Hecla Mining Company $HL Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its Hecla Mining position by 27% in the first quarter, selling 4.66 million shares and leaving it with 12.61 million shares worth about $234.8 million.
• Hecla Mining reported Q1 earnings of $0.24 per share, missing Wall Street expectations of $0.27, though revenue came in slightly above estimates at $411.4 million and rose 57.4% year over year.
• The stock was down 2.5% to $15.30, while analysts currently have a mixed view with an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $24.12.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 27.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,608,301 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,656,969 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.88% of Hecla Mining worth $234,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 74.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the period. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 2.5%

HL opened at $15.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 4.94 and a quick ratio of 4.53. Hecla Mining Company has a 12 month low of $5.62 and a 12 month high of $34.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.32 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.51.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $411.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $407.63 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 17.41%.The company's revenue was up 57.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio is 2.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HL. HC Wainwright dropped their target price on Hecla Mining from $36.50 to $26.75 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Hecla Mining from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hecla Mining from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.12.

About Hecla Mining

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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