Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Hecla Mining Company $HL

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) by 7,588.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,189,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,147,987 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.48% of Hecla Mining worth $38,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Hecla Mining in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the third quarter worth $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 2,390.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,390 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 255.6% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 4,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HL opened at $21.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $14.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.66 and a beta of 1.25. Hecla Mining Company has a twelve month low of $4.46 and a twelve month high of $34.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.57.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $409.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.60 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 16.35% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 67.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Hecla Mining news, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total value of $4,030,679.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 906,370 shares in the company, valued at $17,601,705.40. The trade was a 18.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total value of $1,144,118.29. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 216,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,746,604.31. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 426,679 shares of company stock valued at $7,678,773. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on HL shares. Wall Street Zen raised Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $16.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $16.50 to $36.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, founded in 1891 and headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is one of the oldest publicly traded precious metals companies in the United States. Originally established to develop the rich silver deposits of the Coeur d’Alene district, Hecla has evolved into a diversified mining enterprise focused on the exploration, development and production of silver and gold, with by-product credits from lead and zinc.

The company’s principal operations are located in North America and Latin America.