Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,644,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 146,689 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.53% of Hecla Mining worth $168,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 12.1% during the second quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 40,729 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 4,400 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Hecla Mining in the second quarter valued at approximately $154,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining in the second quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining in the second quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining in the second quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HL opened at $6.78 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.34. The company has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of -45.20 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Hecla Mining has a 1-year low of $3.33 and a 1-year high of $6.99.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a negative return on equity of 0.42% and a negative net margin of 5.56%. The firm had revenue of $245.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 given a $0.0138 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is a boost from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -33.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HL. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $10.25 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 30,634 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 351,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,728,182.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total transaction of $735,303.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,949. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $150,412.94. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 351,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,728,182.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 164,038 shares of company stock worth $1,007,445 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hecla Mining 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.