Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $38.85 Million Holdings in Hecla Mining Company $HL

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 43.6% in the first quarter, ending with 2.09 million shares valued at about $38.85 million.
• Hecla Mining reported Q1 EPS of $0.24, missing estimates by $0.03, while revenue came in at $411.43 million and rose 57.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock currently carries a Hold consensus rating, with an average price target of $24.12, while recent target cuts and upgrades have varied by firm.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 43.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,085,290 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 632,831 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.31% of Hecla Mining worth $38,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HL. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 74.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE HL opened at $14.40 on Friday. Hecla Mining Company has a twelve month low of $5.62 and a twelve month high of $34.17. The stock has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a PE ratio of 35.12 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 4.53 and a current ratio of 4.94.

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

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Hecla Mining from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. HC Wainwright cut their price target on Hecla Mining from $36.50 to $26.75 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Hecla Mining from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. 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 note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Hecla Mining from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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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