U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SLCA) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 2,230,023 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 77% from the previous session’s volume of 1,257,192 shares.The stock last traded at $15.42 and had previously closed at $15.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on U.S. Silica in a research report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on 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 Down 0.1 %

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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $15.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.77. The firm has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 2.03.

U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The mining company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 company 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 firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Silica news, EVP Zach Carusona sold 42,605 shares of U.S. Silica 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 160,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,502,445.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other U.S. Silica news, EVP Zach Carusona sold 42,605 shares of U.S. Silica stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.55, for a total value of $662,507.75. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James Derek Ussery sold 46,433 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Silica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLCA. Boston Partners lifted its position in U.S. Silica by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,027,823 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $26,034,000 after acquiring an additional 669,534 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Silica during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,536,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Silica during the first quarter worth $159,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of U.S. Silica by 8.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,192 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 3,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 43.1% in the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 516,183 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $6,406,000 after purchasing an additional 155,400 shares during the period. 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.