Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Can I have your opinion on the outlook for U.S. Silica Holdings? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

U.S. Silica Holdings, $20.30, symbol SLCA on New York (Shares outstanding: 52.8 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion, www.ussilica.com), produces commercial silica, which is used to stimulate and maintain oil and gas flow in horizontally drilled wells. It’s also a raw material in a wide range of industrial applications, including glass-making and chemical manufacturing. U.S. Silica operates through two segments: Oil & Gas Proppants and Industrial & Specialty Products. The company operates 13 production facilities across the U.S. and controls 283 million tons of reserves, including about 138 million tons that can be processed to meet the American Petroleum Institute (API) specifications for hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” a process that is used to extract oil and gas from shale rock. U.S. Silica first sold shares to the public and began trading on Nasdaq in February 2012 at $17 a share. We generally advise against investing in new issues, for one simple reason: new investments come to market when it’s a good time for…