ProShare Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 49.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 165,448 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 54,436 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of HL. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 138.1% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 40,313 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 23,381 shares during the period. Man Group plc grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 349.4% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 735,420 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,611,000 after acquiring an additional 571,761 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 1,331.9% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,997,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,809,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858,271 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 180,612 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $887,000 after acquiring an additional 38,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on HL shares. TD Securities dropped their target price 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. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $5.50 target price (down from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Monday, May 5th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Catherine J. Boggs bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $99,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 348,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,737,363.31. The trade was a 6.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE HL traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $5.27. 4,239,802 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,229,815. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $5.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.43. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $4.41 and a one year high of $7.68. The company has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.32 and a beta of 1.57.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The business had revenue of $261.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.01) earnings per share. Hecla Mining's revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.09%.

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.