Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Securities LLC

Two Sigma Securities LLC cut its stake in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 90.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,324 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 111,894 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC's holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $61,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HL. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 317.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 909,811 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,069,000 after buying an additional 691,862 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at about $371,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Hecla Mining by 2,757.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 460,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,017,000 after acquiring an additional 444,490 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,481,761 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $23,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 771.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 4,438 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on HL. 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 report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $11.50 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. TD Securities cut their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $7.20.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE:HL traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $4.94. The company had a trading volume of 32,849,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,837,282. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $5.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Hecla Mining has a 12-month low of $4.41 and a 12-month high of $7.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.72 and a beta of 1.57.

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

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Hecla Mining's payout ratio is currently 9.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In other news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $84,604.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,543,551.94. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $47,630.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,512 shares in the company, valued at $541,372.16. This trade represents a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

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.