U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) in a report published on Tuesday morning. The firm 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 report on Wednesday, May 1st.

U.S. Silica Stock Performance

SLCA opened at $15.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 1.99. U.S. Silica has a 1-year low of $10.09 and a 1-year high of $16.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 3.62 and a quick ratio of 2.74.

U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The mining company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 business had revenue of $325.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that U.S. Silica will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at U.S. Silica

In related news, EVP Zach Carusona sold 42,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 160,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,502,445.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Silica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 25.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,773 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,237 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 6.8% in the third quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 16,909 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 33,930 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 63,267 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,752 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.