Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,985 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 15,748 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the first quarter valued at about $42,576,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $19,714,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 54,680,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $391,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238,559 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,420,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,811,000 after buying an additional 1,506,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the second quarter worth $6,280,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

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 value of $735,303.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,175,949. This represents a 38.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Hecla Mining stock opened at $5.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.09. Hecla Mining has a fifty-two week low of $3.33 and a fifty-two week high of $7.68. The company has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -135.50 and a beta of 2.00.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $245.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.03 million. Hecla Mining had a positive return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 2.27%. Hecla Mining’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.01) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.0138 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is currently -125.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on HL. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $10.25 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Securities dropped their target price on Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.94.

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.