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

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

Separately, Citigroup upped their price target 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 Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE SLCA opened at $15.51 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $13.97 and a 200-day moving average of $12.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 2.16. U.S. Silica has a 12 month low of $10.09 and a 12 month high of $16.03. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $325.90 million during 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 business’s revenue was down 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that U.S. Silica will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Zach Carusona sold 42,605 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.55, for a total transaction of $662,507.75. Following the completion of the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other U.S. Silica news, EVP Zach Carusona sold 42,605 shares of the firm’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 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 approximately $2,502,445.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James Derek Ussery sold 46,433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were 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 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 worth $1,552,570. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Silica

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 26,500 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,773 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,237 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 16,909 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 59,533 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.