StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) in a research note issued on Monday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the mining company’s stock.

Separately, Citigroup increased their price objective on U.S. Silica from $13.50 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st.

U.S. Silica Stock Performance

Shares of U.S. Silica stock opened at $15.45 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.62, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 2.03. U.S. Silica has a 12-month low of $10.09 and a 12-month high of $16.03.

U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The mining company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. U.S. Silica had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The company had revenue of $325.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. U.S. Silica’s quarterly revenue was down 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that U.S. Silica will post 1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at U.S. Silica

In other U.S. Silica news, EVP Zach Carusona sold 42,605 shares of U.S. Silica stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.55, for a total transaction of $662,507.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 160,929 shares in the company, valued at $2,502,445.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP James Derek Ussery sold 46,433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $650,062.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,446,808. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Zach Carusona sold 42,605 shares of U.S. Silica stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.55, for a total value of $662,507.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 160,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,502,445.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Silica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Silica in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Callahan Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Silica in the 4th quarter valued at about $124,000. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Silica during the 1st quarter valued at about $148,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Silica during the 1st quarter worth about $159,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of U.S. Silica by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,235 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 3,378 shares during the last quarter. 87.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Silica Company Profile

U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc produces and sells commercial silica in the United States. It operates through two segments: Oil & Gas Proppants and Industrial & Specialty Products. The company offers whole grain commercial silica products to be used as frac for oil and natural gas recovery, as well as sells its whole grain silica products for the manufacturing of glass products.