Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 2,757.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 460,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 444,490 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.07% of Hecla Mining worth $3,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,044,179 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,764,000 after acquiring an additional 131,609 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Hecla Mining in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 12.9% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 81,580 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 9,307 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Hecla Mining during the second quarter worth about $153,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.1% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 985,006 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,777,000 after purchasing an additional 10,513 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of Hecla Mining stock traded up $0.03 on Thursday, hitting $5.10. 7,741,615 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,392,729. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -127.50 and a beta of 1.92.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $245.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.03 million. Hecla Mining had a positive return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 2.27%. Hecla Mining's revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.01) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.0138 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -125.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on HL. TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Hecla Mining from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut shares of Hecla Mining from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.94.

Hecla Mining 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.