Intech Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 181,355 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,210,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $19,714,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 4.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 54,680,051 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $391,510,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238,559 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,420,114 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $285,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,573 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the second quarter valued at $6,280,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 17.0% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 8,219,231 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $39,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,515 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total value of $735,303.24. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 1.2 %

HL stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.50. 10,182,883 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,334,658. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -138.75 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.09. Hecla Mining has a 1-year low of $3.33 and a 1-year high of $7.68. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $6.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.89.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $245.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.0138 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Hecla Mining's payout ratio is -125.00%.

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.