Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) Shares Sold by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Hecla Mining Company by 28.0%, selling 1,660,098 shares and holding 4,279,308 shares valued at approximately $23.8 million.
• Hecla Mining reported $0.04 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.01, with revenue rising 37.9% year-over-year.
• Equities analysts have mixed opinions on Hecla Mining, with target prices ranging from $5.00 to $8.00 and an average rating of "Hold" on the stock.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 28.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,279,308 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,660,098 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.68% of Hecla Mining worth $23,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,189,473 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $20,570,000 after buying an additional 707,712 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,393,040 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $301,440,000 after buying an additional 774,000 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,640,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,578,828 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,752,000 after buying an additional 127,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,307,305 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,419,000 after buying an additional 363,554 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of Hecla Mining stock traded up $0.29 on Monday, hitting $5.98. The stock had a trading volume of 14,445,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,744,363. Hecla Mining Company has a 52-week low of $4.41 and a 52-week high of $7.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.32 and a beta of 1.27. The company's 50 day moving average price is $5.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.63.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $261.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $238.50 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 3.87%. The firm's revenue was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.01) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HL shares. National Bankshares set a $7.00 price objective on Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, June 13th. TD Securities cut their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Roth Capital reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. National Bank Financial raised Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, CIBC raised their target price on Hecla Mining from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.66, for a total transaction of $126,047.16. Following the sale, the vice president owned 59,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $395,670.60. This represents a 24.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Catherine J. Boggs purchased 20,000 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $99,800.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 348,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,737,363.31. This trade represents a 6.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

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.