Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Stock Holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its position in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 28.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 102,328 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $1,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,961 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 173,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,297 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in Hecla Mining by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 13,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 2,944 shares in the last quarter. Benin Management CORP raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 32,850 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 22,203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 3,548 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. National Bank Financial upgraded Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities lowered Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Krcmarov acquired 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.29 per share, with a total value of $34,755.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,755,518.24. This represents a 2.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $84,604.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 297,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,551.94. The trade was a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE HL opened at $5.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 111.12 and a beta of 1.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $5.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.84. Hecla Mining has a fifty-two week low of $4.41 and a fifty-two week high of $7.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The business had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is 20.00%.

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.