Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Short Interest Update

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,340,000 shares, a decrease of 8.3% from the August 15th total of 14,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,290,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In related news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total transaction of $57,343.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 393,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,934,019.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Hecla Mining news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 30,634 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total transaction of $150,412.94. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 351,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,728,182.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total transaction of $57,343.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 175,717 shares of company stock worth $1,064,789 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Hecla Mining by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 77,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 14,295 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hecla Mining by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,902,891 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,393,000 after buying an additional 62,702 shares in the last quarter. SCP Investment LP grew its position in Hecla Mining by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. SCP Investment LP now owns 38,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 33,146 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 13,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,761,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 3.4 %

NYSE:HL traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.53. The stock had a trading volume of 14,516,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,459,995. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.87 and a beta of 2.00. Hecla Mining has a 1-year low of $3.33 and a 1-year high of $6.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.33.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 5.56% and a negative return on equity of 0.42%. The firm had revenue of $245.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.0138 per share. This is an increase from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is -33.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HL. CIBC boosted their price target on Hecla Mining from $6.75 to $7.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm reduced their target price 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. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $10.25 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.45.

About Hecla Mining

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.