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

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

Separately, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 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 Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:SLCA opened at $15.57 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $13.08 and a 200-day moving average of $11.79. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 2.16. U.S. Silica has a one year low of $10.09 and a one year high of $16.03.

U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The mining company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The company had revenue of $325.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.59 million. U.S. Silica had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that U.S. Silica will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Zach Carusona sold 42,605 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 160,929 shares in the company, valued at $2,502,445.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other U.S. Silica news, EVP Zach Carusona sold 42,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.55, for a total value of $662,507.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 160,929 shares in the company, valued at $2,502,445.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Derek Ussery sold 46,433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $650,062.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 174,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,446,808. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,038 shares of company stock worth $1,552,570. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Silica

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Silica during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in shares of U.S. Silica in the 3rd quarter worth $109,000. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Silica in the 3rd quarter worth $140,000. Callahan Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Silica in the 4th quarter worth $124,000. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. bought a new position in shares of U.S. Silica in the 1st quarter worth $148,000. Institutional investors own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Silica Company Profile

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.