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

U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) had its target price increased by Citigroup from $13.50 to $15.50 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the mining company’s stock.

U.S. Silica Price Performance

Shares of SLCA opened at $15.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 2.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $12.83 and its 200-day moving average is $11.74. U.S. Silica has a one year low of $10.09 and a one year high of $16.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.62.

U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The mining company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $325.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.59 million. U.S. Silica had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 13.77%. U.S. Silica’s quarterly revenue was down 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that U.S. Silica will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other U.S. Silica news, EVP Stacy Russell sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total transaction of $240,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 186,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,024. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other U.S. Silica news, EVP Stacy Russell sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total value of $240,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 186,752 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,024. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Derek Ussery sold 46,433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $650,062.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,446,808. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,038 shares of company stock valued at $1,552,570 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of U.S. Silica by 198.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,138,425 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 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 shares of U.S. Silica in the 4th quarter valued at $5,881,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in U.S. Silica by 103.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 810,506 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $11,380,000 after purchasing an additional 412,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soviero Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in U.S. Silica during the 4th 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.