Dark Forest Capital Management LP Has $1.29 Million Stock Holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP lowered its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 262,465 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 92,898 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $1,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter worth about $18,441,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Hecla Mining by 182.4% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,006,115 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $24,580,000 after purchasing an additional 3,233,116 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,855,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Hecla Mining by 43.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,481,761 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $23,223,000 after buying an additional 1,059,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Hecla Mining by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,788,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $18,600,000 after buying an additional 885,900 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Hecla Mining stock opened at $5.65 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $5.49 and its 200 day moving average is $5.69. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $4.41 and a one year high of $7.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.92 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HL shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. TD Securities downgraded 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 report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.75.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $84,604.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,543,551.94. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction 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 owns 104,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $541,372.16. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.