Citigroup Increases U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) Price Target to $15.50

U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $13.50 to $15.50 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the mining company’s stock.

U.S. Silica Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of SLCA opened at $15.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.62. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 2.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.74. U.S. Silica has a 52-week low of $10.09 and a 52-week high of $16.03.

U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The mining company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. U.S. Silica had a return on equity of 13.77% and a net margin of 8.08%. The business had revenue of $325.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that U.S. Silica will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Zach Carusona sold 42,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.55, for a total value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Stacy Russell sold 20,000 shares of U.S. Silica stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total transaction of $240,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 186,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,024. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Zach Carusona sold 42,605 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 160,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,502,445.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,038 shares of company stock valued at $1,552,570 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Silica

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 198.3% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,720,901 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $57,839,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138,425 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in U.S. Silica by 90.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,817,279 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $43,173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811,951 shares during the last quarter. Findell Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Silica in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,881,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in U.S. Silica by 103.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 810,506 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $11,380,000 after buying an additional 412,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soviero Asset Management LP bought a new position in U.S. Silica during the fourth quarter worth about $4,467,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.