Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 2,238,559 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Free Report) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,680,051 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 2,238,559 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 8.68% of Hecla Mining worth $391,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the first quarter valued at approximately $84,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 61.7% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 339,557 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 129,592 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 1,160.5% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 294,713 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 271,332 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the first quarter valued at approximately $296,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the first quarter valued at approximately $439,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HL. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $10.25 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.56.

Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining

In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 108,612 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.77, for a total value of $735,303.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,949. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Hecla Mining stock traded down $0.09 on Friday, hitting $6.40. The stock had a trading volume of 12,275,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,599,187. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $3.33 and a one year high of $7.68. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -80.00 and a beta of 2.00. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $6.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.81.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 5.56% and a negative return on equity of 0.42%. The firm had revenue of $245.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $208.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hecla Mining will post 0.07 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.0138 dividend. This is a boost from Hecla Mining's previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -62.50%.

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.