Arizona State Retirement System Acquires 2,297 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 173,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,297 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $181,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,220,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,453,000 after purchasing an additional 502,094 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $167,764.66. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 246,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,559.20. The trade was a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,543,551.94. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of HL opened at $5.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 115.52 and a beta of 1.94. Hecla Mining has a 12 month low of $4.04 and a 12 month high of $7.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $5.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.84. 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 (NYSE:HL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. On average, analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is presently 20.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HL has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Securities lowered Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.75.

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.