Citigroup Inc. Purchases 435,634 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 221.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 632,744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 435,634 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Hecla Mining worth $4,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 313.6% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 4,967 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the third quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the second quarter worth approximately $54,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Hecla Mining stock opened at $5.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.89. Hecla Mining has a twelve month low of $3.33 and a twelve month high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.03 million. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 2.27% and a positive return on equity of 0.75%. Hecla Mining’s revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.01) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.0138 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is presently -125.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total transaction of $735,303.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,949. This represents a 38.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HL. TD Securities dropped their price target on Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. National Bank Financial downgraded Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.25 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.94.

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.