U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. 's SLCA Industrial and Specialty Products business will hike prices of most of its cool roof granule, non-contracted silica sand, aplite and specialty products, primarily used in foundry, glass, coatings, paints, chemicals, recreation, roofing, elastomers, building products and other applications.
The price increases will be in the band of 2-9%, depending on the grade and product, and are effective for shipments starting Jan 1, 2019.
Per the company, the price hike action is aimed at offsetting increasing costs of production and also supports continued investment in upgrading capacity to meet its growing products demand.
U.S. Silica's shares have lost 43% over the past three months, underperforming the 5.1% decline of the industry.
During the third-quarterearnings call U.S. Silica said that it envisions a seasonal slowdown in Industrial and Specialty Products (ISP) volumes and a seasonal decline in higher margin ground product sales in the fourth quarter as customers idle production facility for major maintenance and holidays.
Revenues for the company's ISP division surged 106% year over year to $120.7 million in the third quarter. Overall sales volume rose 6% year over year to 0.983 million tons. ISP contribution margin went up 18% sequentially and 103% year over year to $48.7 million, driven by strong legacy business and the EP Minerals acquisition.
U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Price and Consensus
U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Price and Consensus | U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
U.S. Silica currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
A few better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are The Mosaic Company MOS , Nexeo Solutions, Inc. NXEO and BHP Billiton PLC BBL .
Mosaic has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 7% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company's shares have rallied 33.8% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Nexeo has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 30.6% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company's shares have gained 3.4% in the past year.
BHP Billiton has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 5.3% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company's shares have gained 5.9% over the past year.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
