BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 709,576 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 378.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 897,261 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 709,576 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.14% of Hecla Mining worth $5,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,714,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 4.3% in 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 during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,991 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Hecla Mining during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,280,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in Hecla Mining by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 8,219,231 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,863,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,515 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE HL traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $5.67. The company had a trading volume of 6,391,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,314,298. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -143.50 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Hecla Mining has a 1-year low of $3.33 and a 1-year high of $7.68. The firm's 50 day moving average is $6.30 and its 200-day moving average is $5.89.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a positive return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 2.27%. The business had revenue of $245.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $232.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.01) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.0138 dividend. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -125.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In other Hecla Mining 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 transaction of $735,303.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,949. This trade represents a 38.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hecla Mining Company 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.