Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 23,960,000 shares, a growth of 49.3% from the February 13th total of 16,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 16,410,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 3.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hecla Mining Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of HL stock traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $5.75. The company had a trading volume of 20,156,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,722,704. Hecla Mining has a twelve month low of $4.04 and a twelve month high of $7.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.92 and a beta of 1.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.84.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Hecla Mining news, CEO Robert Krcmarov purchased 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.29 per share, with a total value of $34,755.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,755,518.24. The trade was a 2.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 16,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $84,604.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 297,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,543,551.94. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,915 shares of company stock valued at $300,000. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HL. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 173,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,297 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 25,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 2,457 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 18,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 28.6% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 13,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HL. Roth Mkm cut their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.75.

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.