HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 421.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 140,619 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 113,631 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 5.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,865,241 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $92,499,000 after acquiring an additional 711,676 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Hecla Mining by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,220,645 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,453,000 after buying an additional 502,094 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Hecla Mining by 51.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,258,000 after buying an additional 1,842,991 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter valued at about $18,441,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 43.8% during 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 during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Hecla Mining Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HL traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.63. 20,360,751 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,561,566. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $4.41 and a one year high of $7.68. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $5.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.83. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.62 and a beta of 1.94. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In other news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $84,604.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,543,551.94. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $167,764.66. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 246,440 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,559.20. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.