CoreCommodity Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

CoreCommodity Management LLC decreased its stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,257 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 11,343 shares during the quarter. CoreCommodity Management LLC’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HL. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,220,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,453,000 after buying an additional 502,094 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,640,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,189,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,570,000 after purchasing an additional 707,712 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,393,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $301,440,000 after purchasing an additional 774,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 76,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 50,969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL stock opened at $4.94 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $5.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.61. 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 has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 98.72 and a beta of 1.57. Hecla Mining has a 52-week low of $4.41 and a 52-week high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The firm had revenue of $261.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.01) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given 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 0.30%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is 9.09%.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In other news, CEO Robert Krcmarov bought 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.29 per share, with a total value of $34,755.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,755,518.24. The trade was a 2.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,372.16. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000 in the last quarter. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm cut their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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 report on Monday. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.20.

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.