StockNews.com upgraded shares of U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA – Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on SLCA. TheStreet raised shares of U.S. Silica from a d+ rating to a c rating in a research note on Monday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of U.S. Silica from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 4th.

U.S. Silica Price Performance

SLCA stock opened at $11.87 on Friday. U.S. Silica has a 12 month low of $8.91 and a 12 month high of $21.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.66. The stock has a market cap of $898.67 million, a PE ratio of 34.91 and a beta of 2.66.

Insider Activity at U.S. Silica

In other news, Director Diane K. Duren sold 16,089 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.43, for a total value of $183,897.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 81,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $928,950.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Donald A. Merril sold 35,879 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.44, for a total value of $518,092.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 200,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,844.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Diane K. Duren sold 16,089 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.43, for a total transaction of $183,897.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 81,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $928,950.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Silica

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 343.8% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,583 shares of the mining company's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Silica during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,000. KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of U.S. Silica during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of U.S. Silica by 60.4% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,737 shares of the mining company's stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 2,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Silica during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company's stock.

About U.S. Silica

(Get Rating)

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 fracturing sand in connection with oil and natural gas recovery, as well as sells its whole grain silica products in various size distributions, grain shapes, and chemical purity levels for the manufacturing of glass products.

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