SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 68,943 Shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 160.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 111,856 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 68,943 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,883 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 173,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,297 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 25,370 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 2,457 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 22,203 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 3,548 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 42,567 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,845 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HL shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $5.50 price objective (down from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Monday, May 5th. National Bankshares set a $7.00 target price on Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, June 13th. National Bank Financial upgraded Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $7.10.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

HL stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.76. 27,340,004 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,286,048. Hecla Mining Company has a twelve month low of $4.41 and a twelve month 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.32 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.47.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $261.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.50 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.87% and a net margin of 7.13%. 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 posted ($0.01) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.