Caprock Group LLC Takes $568,000 Position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 117,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HL. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Hecla Mining by 6.8% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 60,513,592 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $291,070,000 after acquiring an additional 3,827,580 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,420,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,573 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Hecla Mining by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 34,919,446 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $167,967,000 after purchasing an additional 168,185 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,576,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in Hecla Mining by 17.0% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 8,219,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,863,000 after buying an additional 1,196,515 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL opened at $5.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.47 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.23. Hecla Mining has a 52-week low of $3.33 and a 52-week high of $6.35.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $245.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.80 million. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 5.56% and a negative return on equity of 0.42%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.0138 dividend. This is a positive change from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is currently -33.33%.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In other news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total value of $57,343.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 393,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,019.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hecla Mining news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 30,634 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total transaction of $150,412.94. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 351,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,728,182.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total transaction of $57,343.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 393,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,934,019.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 67,105 shares of company stock valued at $329,486 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HL has been the subject of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $10.25 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, CIBC increased their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.75 to $7.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.13.

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.