KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 123,900 Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 123,900 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $608,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 771.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 4,438 shares during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,961 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HL has been the topic of several analyst reports. National Bank Financial upgraded Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Securities cut shares of Hecla Mining from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Five investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $7.75.

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Hecla Mining Price Performance

HL stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $4.77. 21,931,473 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,667,253. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.78. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.32 and a beta of 1.77. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $4.41 and a one year high of $7.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. Equities analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining's payout ratio is 20.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert Krcmarov acquired 6,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.29 per share, with a total value of $34,755.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,755,518.24. This trade represents a 2.02 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of Hecla Mining 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 owns 297,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,543,551.94. The trade was a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000. 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.