Man Group plc Grows Stock Holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Man Group plc grew its position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 349.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 735,420 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 571,761 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.12% of Hecla Mining worth $3,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Haven Private LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HL shares. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities cut their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $7.13.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE:HL traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5.11. 12,669,766 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,245,667. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.44. Hecla Mining has a fifty-two week low of $4.41 and a fifty-two week high of $7.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 102.22 and a beta of 1.57.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $238.50 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. Hecla Mining's revenue was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.01) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In other Hecla Mining 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 value of $47,630.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,372.16. The trade was a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $167,764.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 246,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,559.20. The trade was a 11.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.