Retirement Systems of Alabama Makes New $15.43 Million Investment in Hecla Mining Company $HL

Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 804,227 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,433,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.8% in the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 12,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Hecla Mining by 29.9% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,023 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 926 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Hecla Mining by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,426 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Hecla Mining by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their target price on shares of Hecla Mining from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.63.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL stock opened at $19.16 on Friday. Hecla Mining Company has a fifty-two week low of $4.46 and a fifty-two week high of $34.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $12.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.10 and a beta of 1.40.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total transaction of $1,144,118.29. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 216,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,746,604.31. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

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.