Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Hecla Mining Call Options (NYSE:HL)

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 58,103 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 21% compared to the typical volume of 48,154 call options.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total value of $1,144,118.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 216,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,746,604.31. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total transaction of $4,030,679.26. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 906,370 shares in the company, valued at $17,601,705.40. This represents a 18.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hecla Mining

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Veracity Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 11,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 31,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,786 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Hecla Mining by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 74.3% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

HL stock traded down $1.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $20.73. 18,637,247 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,677,297. Hecla Mining has a twelve month low of $4.46 and a twelve month high of $34.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.31 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.81.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is currently 2.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on HL shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $16.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 target price on Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.63.

Hecla Mining Company 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.