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

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

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

U.S. Silica Stock Performance

NYSE:SLCA opened at $15.52 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.74. U.S. Silica has a 1-year low of $10.09 and a 1-year high of $16.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 2.16.

U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The mining company reported $0.20 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.59 million. During the same quarter 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. Research analysts anticipate that U.S. Silica will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Silica

In other news, EVP James Derek Ussery sold 46,433 shares of U.S. Silica 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Stacy Russell sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total value of $240,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 186,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,024. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Derek Ussery sold 46,433 shares of U.S. Silica 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,446,808. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,038 shares of company stock worth $1,552,570 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Silica during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in shares of U.S. Silica during the third quarter worth about $109,000. Callahan Advisors LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Silica in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in U.S. Silica during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $140,000. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Silica during the first quarter worth $148,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

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.