Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 15,703 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,733 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 15,703 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 313.6% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 4,967 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Oak Family Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 48.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 15,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 5,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hecla Mining news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 30,634 shares of the company’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 approximately $1,728,182.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 11,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total transaction of $57,343.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 393,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,019.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 30,634 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,105 shares of company stock worth $329,486. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $10.25 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, August 8th. CIBC boosted their price target on Hecla Mining from $6.75 to $7.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.45.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL stock opened at $6.82 on Friday. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $3.33 and a one year high of $6.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of -45.47 and a beta of 2.00.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.0138 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Hecla Mining’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is -33.33%.

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.