UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Hecla Mining Company $HL

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,843,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 328,485 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.27% of Hecla Mining worth $28,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,174,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $589,027,000 after acquiring an additional 5,053,624 shares during the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 16.0% in the second quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 244,849 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 33,782 shares during the period. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining during the second quarter worth approximately $328,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hecla Mining in the 2nd quarter worth $22,599,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hecla Mining in the second quarter valued at $175,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on HL shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Hecla Mining in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.82.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 2.4%

HL opened at $21.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.39 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $16.99 and its 200-day moving average is $18.12. Hecla Mining Company has a 52-week low of $8.75 and a 52-week high of $34.17.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 18.91%. The firm had revenue of $333.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.09 earnings per share. Hecla Mining’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $0.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.04%.

Hecla Mining Profile

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.