Congress Asset Management Co. Has $3.93 Million Holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 800,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 46,020 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.13% of Hecla Mining worth $3,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,718,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,813,000 after buying an additional 456,107 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,435,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,991 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Hecla Mining during the third quarter worth $1,210,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 5.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,865,241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,499,000 after purchasing an additional 711,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 378.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 897,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,985,000 after purchasing an additional 709,576 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Stock Down 14.8 %

Shares of NYSE HL opened at $5.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -135.63 and a beta of 1.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $5.43 and its 200 day moving average is $5.86. Hecla Mining has a 52 week low of $3.40 and a 52 week high of $7.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 2.27% and a positive return on equity of 0.75%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is presently -125.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price objective on Hecla Mining from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.25.

Hecla Mining Company 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.