Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 5,538,729 Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,141,322 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,538,729 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 7.82% of Hecla Mining worth $241,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HL. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 771.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 4,438 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HL shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Hecla Mining from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Securities cut their price objective on Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.94.

Hecla Mining Stock Up 3.6 %

NYSE HL opened at $6.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $5.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.85. Hecla Mining has a 1 year low of $3.33 and a 1 year high of $7.68.

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.