KBC Group NV Buys 8,689 Shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)

KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) by 36.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,536 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 8,689 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $181,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 1st quarter valued at about $56,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 117.6% in the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 11,574 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 6,255 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

HL stock opened at $6.05 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.51. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.01 and a beta of 1.47. Hecla Mining Company has a 1 year low of $4.41 and a 1 year high of $7.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $261.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.50 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.87% and a net margin of 7.13%. Hecla Mining’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.01) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is 9.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Stuart Maurice Absolom sold 18,926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.66, for a total value of $126,047.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 59,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $395,670.60. This represents a 24.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Catherine J. Boggs purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.99 per share, with a total value of $99,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 348,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,737,363.31. This trade represents a 6.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HL shares. National Bank Financial raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $5.50 price target (down previously from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Monday, May 5th. National Bankshares set a $7.00 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, June 13th. TD Securities cut their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hecla Mining currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.92.

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.