U.S. Silica (NYSE:SLCA – Get Rating) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on U.S. Silica from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. TheStreet upgraded U.S. Silica from a "d+" rating to a "c" rating in a research note on Monday, October 24th.

U.S. Silica Price Performance

U.S. Silica stock opened at $12.48 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $12.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.68. U.S. Silica has a one year low of $8.91 and a one year high of $21.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The firm has a market cap of $944.86 million, a PE ratio of 36.71 and a beta of 2.66.

Insider Activity at U.S. Silica

In other U.S. Silica news, CFO Donald A. Merril sold 35,879 shares of U.S. Silica stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.44, for a total transaction of $518,092.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 200,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,890,844.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other U.S. Silica news, CFO Donald A. Merril sold 35,879 shares of U.S. Silica stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.44, for a total transaction of $518,092.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 200,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,890,844.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $183,897.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 81,273 shares in the company, valued at $928,950.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Silica

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Silica by 214.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,109,860 shares of the mining company's stock worth $12,675,000 after purchasing an additional 756,500 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Silica during the third quarter worth about $6,396,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Silica by 52.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,478,513 shares of the mining company's stock worth $27,589,000 after purchasing an additional 508,648 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in U.S. Silica by 88.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,050,396 shares of the mining company's stock worth $13,130,000 after buying an additional 491,947 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $70,562,000 after buying an additional 422,719 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Silica Company Profile

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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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