U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SLCA – Get Rating) shares were up 5.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $12.68 and last traded at $12.65. Approximately 14,295 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 97% from the average daily volume of 530,454 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SLCA shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of U.S. Silica from a "d+" rating to a "c" rating in a research note on Monday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of U.S. Silica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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 Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $12.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.39. The stock has a market cap of $953.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.71 and a beta of 2.66.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Silica

In other news, Director Diane K. Duren sold 16,089 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 81,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $928,950.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Diane K. Duren sold 16,089 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.43, for a total transaction of $183,897.27. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 81,273 shares in the company, valued at $928,950.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Donald A. Merril sold 35,879 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.44, for a total value of $518,092.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 200,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,890,844.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Silica

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of U.S. Silica by 0.8% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 12,962,148 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $141,934,000 after buying an additional 107,466 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of U.S. Silica by 7.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,443,977 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $70,562,000 after buying an additional 422,719 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in U.S. Silica by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,349,108 shares of the mining company's stock worth $49,667,000 after purchasing an additional 392,100 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in U.S. Silica by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,825,633 shares of the mining company's stock worth $43,689,000 after purchasing an additional 269,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in U.S. Silica by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,758,098 shares of the mining company's stock worth $41,153,000 after purchasing an additional 198,037 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

U.S. Silica Company Profile

(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.

Further Reading

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