U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) in a research report sent to investors on Monday. The firm issued a hold rating on the mining company’s stock.

Separately, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Silica from $13.50 to $15.50 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st.

U.S. Silica Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLCA opened at $15.43 on Monday. U.S. Silica has a 1-year low of $10.09 and a 1-year high of $16.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $15.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.87. The company has a current ratio of 3.62, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) last announced 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 return on equity of 13.77% and a net margin of 8.08%. The firm had revenue of $325.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that U.S. Silica will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at U.S. Silica

In other news, EVP James Derek Ussery sold 46,433 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $650,062.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 174,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,446,808. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Zach Carusona sold 42,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.55, for a total value of $662,507.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 160,929 shares in the company, valued at $2,502,445.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Derek Ussery sold 46,433 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $650,062.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 174,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,446,808. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Silica

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SLCA. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in U.S. Silica by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 32,779 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 4,427 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of U.S. Silica by 19.6% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,659 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in U.S. Silica by 7.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,138,152 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $15,980,000 after acquiring an additional 76,477 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in U.S. Silica by 649.2% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 155,812 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 135,016 shares during the period. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Silica by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 124,612 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,750,000 after purchasing an additional 4,427 shares during the period. 87.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About U.S. Silica

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.