U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA – Get Rating) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SLCA. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of U.S. Silica from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of U.S. Silica from $13.50 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.40.

U.S. Silica Stock Performance

SLCA stock opened at $12.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $917.25 million, a PE ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 2.60. U.S. Silica has a 12 month low of $9.47 and a 12 month high of $21.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.07 and its 200 day moving average is $12.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 24th. The mining company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.08. U.S. Silica had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The company had revenue of $412.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $403.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.22) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 44.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that U.S. Silica will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at U.S. Silica

In related news, CEO Bryan Adair Shinn sold 58,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.99, for a total value of $818,401.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,434,969.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Bryan Adair Shinn sold 58,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.99, for a total value of $818,401.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,434,969.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Diane K. Duren sold 16,089 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.43, for a total transaction of $183,897.27. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 81,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $928,950.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Silica

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLCA. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Silica by 214.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,109,860 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $12,675,000 after purchasing an additional 756,500 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Silica during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,396,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Silica by 52.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,478,513 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $27,589,000 after purchasing an additional 508,648 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Silica by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,050,396 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $13,130,000 after purchasing an additional 491,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Silica by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,443,977 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $70,562,000 after purchasing an additional 422,719 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About U.S. Silica

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U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc engages in the provision of commercial silica products. It operates through the following segments: Oil and Gas Proppants, and Industrial and Specialty Products. The Oil and Gas Proppants segment focuses on delivering fracturing sand, which is pumped down oil and natural gas wells to prop open rock fissures and increase the flow rate of natural gas and oil from the wells.