Financial Advocates Investment Management Trims Stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Financial Advocates Investment Management cut its stake in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,583 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HL. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 27.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 2,916 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 21,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 4,146 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 313.6% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 4,967 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hecla Mining by 48.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 15,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 5,104 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 8.7% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 109,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 8,748 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was 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 owns 393,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,019.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hecla Mining news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 30,634 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total value of $150,412.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 351,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,728,182.52. 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 11,679 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were 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 $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 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts raised Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.75 to $7.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $10.25 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.13.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Hecla Mining stock opened at $5.92 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of -39.43 and a beta of 2.01. Hecla Mining has a twelve month low of $3.33 and a twelve month high of $6.35.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Hecla Mining had a negative return on equity of 0.28% and a negative net margin of 12.22%. The business had revenue of $245.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.0138 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. This is a boost from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is currently -33.33%.

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.