U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Citigroup boosted 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

SLCA traded up $0.01 on Monday, hitting $15.52. The company had a trading volume of 890,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,107,580. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $12.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.74. U.S. Silica has a 1-year low of $10.09 and a 1-year high of $16.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 3.62 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 2.16.

U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The mining company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The company had revenue of $325.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.59 million. U.S. Silica had a return on equity of 13.77% and a net margin of 8.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that U.S. Silica will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Silica news, EVP James Derek Ussery sold 46,433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 174,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,446,808. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 160,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,502,445.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Derek Ussery sold 46,433 shares of the firm’s 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,038 shares of company stock valued at $1,552,570. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Silica

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLCA. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Silica in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in shares of U.S. Silica during the third quarter valued at $109,000. Callahan Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Silica in the 4th quarter valued at $124,000. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Silica in the 3rd quarter valued at $140,000. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Silica during the 1st quarter worth about $148,000. 87.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.