HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Buys New Stake in U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SLCA)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SLCA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,989 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SLCA. Findell Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Silica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,881,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in U.S. Silica by 90.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,817,279 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $43,173,000 after buying an additional 1,811,951 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in U.S. Silica by 649.2% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 155,812 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 135,016 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,235 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 3,378 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Silica by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,040,426 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $14,608,000 after acquiring an additional 114,579 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Silica

In other news, EVP James Derek Ussery sold 46,433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $650,062.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 174,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,446,808. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other U.S. Silica news, EVP Zach Carusona sold 42,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James Derek Ussery sold 46,433 shares of U.S. Silica stock in a transaction 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 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. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

U.S. Silica Trading Down 1.0 %

SLCA stock opened at $15.24 on Friday. U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.09 and a 12 month high of $16.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.00 and its 200 day moving average is $12.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 2.03. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The mining company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The business had revenue of $325.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.59 million. U.S. Silica had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SLCA shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of U.S. Silica in a research report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on 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 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.