Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,523 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HL. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,982 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 26,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 3,517 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $787,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 18,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 2,909 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hecla Mining news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $84,604.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 297,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,551.94. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $47,630.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,372.16. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL stock opened at $5.45 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $4.04 and a one year high of $7.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.92 and a beta of 1.94.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. 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 business had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HL shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.00.

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.