Invesco Ltd. Grows Stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,736,673 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 147,730 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.44% of Hecla Mining worth $13,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HL. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 771.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 4,438 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on HL. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $11.50 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. TD Securities downgraded Hecla Mining from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $7.75.

Insider Activity

In related 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 owns 104,512 shares in the company, valued at $541,372.16. This trade represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,543,551.94. This trade represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.85. 17,774,840 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,322,981. Hecla Mining has a 1 year low of $4.41 and a 1 year high of $7.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.02 and a beta of 1.77. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $5.52 and its 200 day moving average is $5.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. Equities research analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.00%.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

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.