Investment analysts at R. F. Lafferty assumed coverage on shares of U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $52.00 price target on the mining company’s stock. R. F. Lafferty’s price target points to a potential upside of 45.05% from the company’s current price.
SLCA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of U.S. Silica from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $55.00 target price on shares of U.S. Silica and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 7th. Piper Jaffray Companies reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of U.S. Silica in a report on Thursday, October 19th. Barclays raised shares of U.S. Silica from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $39.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, November 20th. Finally, BidaskClub cut shares of U.S. Silica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. U.S. Silica presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.76.
U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA) opened at $35.85 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. U.S. Silica has a twelve month low of $24.26 and a twelve month high of $61.49. The firm has a market cap of $2,910.00, a P/E ratio of 44.81 and a beta of 2.33.
U.S. Silica declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the mining company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
In other news, CEO Bryan Adair Shinn purchased 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.30 per share, for a total transaction of $125,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,779,659.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradford B. Casper sold 8,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.21, for a total transaction of $297,627.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $636,066.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 7,900 shares of company stock valued at $256,063. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.
Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of U.S. Silica by 43.0% during the second quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 399,758 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $14,187,000 after acquiring an additional 120,146 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of U.S. Silica by 1.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,191,404 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $255,223,000 after acquiring an additional 114,029 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Silica during the third quarter worth $548,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of U.S. Silica by 110.4% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 916,732 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $28,483,000 after acquiring an additional 481,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of U.S. Silica by 10.0% during the third quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 449,526 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $13,967,000 after acquiring an additional 40,996 shares during the last quarter.
About U.S. Silica
U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc is a domestic producer of commercial silica, a specialized mineral that is an input into a range of end markets. The Company operates in two segments: Oil & Gas Proppants, and Industrial & Specialty Products. In the Oil & Gas Proppants segment, it serves the oil and gas recovery market providing fracturing sand, or frac sand, which is pumped down oil and natural gas wells to prop open rock fissures and manage the flow rate of natural gas and oil from the wells.
