Hecla Mining Company $HL Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP reduced its Hecla Mining stake by 3.4% in the first quarter, selling 113,233 shares and ending with 3,174,974 shares worth about $59.15 million.
• Hecla Mining’s latest quarterly results were mixed: EPS came in at $0.24, below the $0.27 estimate, while revenue of $411.43 million slightly topped expectations and rose 57.4% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment is cautious, with the stock carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average target price of $24.12 after several recent downgrades and target cuts.

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its stake in Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,174,974 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 113,233 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.47% of Hecla Mining worth $59,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 25,454 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 2,925 shares during the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 46.1% during the first quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 79,658 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,484,000 after acquiring an additional 25,117 shares during the last quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the first quarter worth approximately $1,669,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 1,329.8% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,075 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 64.5% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Hecla Mining stock opened at $15.12 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $15.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.48. The company has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87 and a beta of 1.29. Hecla Mining Company has a 1 year low of $5.62 and a 1 year high of $34.17.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $411.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $407.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 57.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. 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. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hecla Mining from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Hecla Mining from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.12.

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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