Baird Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 49.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,247 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 21,790 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 25,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 2,457 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 263.1% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 217,282 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 157,436 shares during the last quarter. Arrowroot Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth approximately $669,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,098,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,944,000 after acquiring an additional 289,865 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of Hecla Mining stock opened at $4.87 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $5.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 97.32 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Hecla Mining has a 52 week low of $4.41 and a 52 week high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $261.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.50 million. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The business’s revenue was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.01) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is 9.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm cut their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. National Bank Financial raised Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $5.50 target price (down previously from $7.50) on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, TD Securities cut their target price on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert Krcmarov bought 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $5.29 per share, for a total transaction of $34,755.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,755,518.24. This represents a 2.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 9,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $47,630.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 104,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,372.16. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hecla Mining Profile

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.