Oppenheimer & Close LLC Lowers Stake in Hecla Mining Company $HL

Oppenheimer & Close LLC lessened its holdings in Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 653,675 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 314,920 shares during the period. Hecla Mining makes up 5.4% of Oppenheimer & Close LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Oppenheimer & Close LLC owned about 0.10% of Hecla Mining worth $7,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 3rd quarter valued at about $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 purchasing an additional 2,390 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 255.6% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 4,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $16.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Hecla Mining from $16.50 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 target price on Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hecla Mining

In other Hecla Mining news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total value of $1,144,118.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 216,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,746,604.31. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total value of $4,030,679.26. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 906,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,601,705.40. This represents a 18.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL stock opened at $23.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.94 and a beta of 1.25. Hecla Mining Company has a fifty-two week low of $4.46 and a fifty-two week high of $34.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.91.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is currently 2.04%.

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.