Bank of America reissued their buy rating on shares of US Silica Holdings (NASDAQ: SLCA) in a research report released on Wednesday morning. Bank of America currently has a $24.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $20.00.

“U.S. Silica (SLCA) shares jumped 18% aided by short covering on the day following a 4Q beat and 2013 guidance slightly higher than the Street. In 2012, pricing concerns for raw frac sand drove stock price down to under $10 from $21. We have argued since August pricing concerns were overdone and the market should regain faith in the SLCA story as execution unfolds. Done! We are bumping our 2013/2014 EPS estimates to $1.70/$2.10 from $1.65/$2.00 owing to higher frac sand volumes and better pricing. Critically, expansion projects and logistics offer additional upside. Our PO increases to $24, or 12x forward EPS. This is about a 6x multiple discount to the 2012 NTM P/E high for Carbo Ceramic (CRR) – the closest comparable – and in line with median discount.,” Bank of America’s analyst commented.

Shares of US Silica Holdings traded down 2.16% during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.06. US Silica Holdings has a 52 week low of $9.02 and a 52 week high of $26.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $19.80. The company has a market cap of $1.271 billion and a P/E ratio of 18.94.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on SLCA. Analysts at Dahlman Rose raised their price target on shares of US Silica Holdings from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research note to investors on Wednesday. They now have a buy rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at William Blair upgraded shares of US Silica Holdings from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note to investors on Friday, February 22nd. Finally, analysts at RBC Capital initiated coverage on shares of US Silica Holdings in a research note to investors on Thursday, January 17th. They set a sector perform rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock.

Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, one has given an overweight rating, and two have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. US Silica Holdings currently has a consensus rating of overweight and a consensus target price of $22.57.

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