StockNews.com Upgrades United States Lime & Minerals (NASDAQ:USLM) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of United States Lime & Minerals (NASDAQ:USLM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

United States Lime & Minerals Stock Down 5.2 %

USLM opened at $74.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $73.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.78. United States Lime & Minerals has a twelve month low of $37.11 and a twelve month high of $87.13.

United States Lime & Minerals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. United States Lime & Minerals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1.43%.

Insider Activity at United States Lime & Minerals

In other news, CEO Timothy W. Byrne sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.06, for a total transaction of $66,064.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 147,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,758,643.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Timothy W. Byrne sold 36,945 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.34, for a total value of $2,487,728.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 151,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,228,338.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy W. Byrne sold 1,000 shares of United States Lime & Minerals stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.06, for a total transaction of $66,064.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 147,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,758,643.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Lime & Minerals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in USLM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United States Lime & Minerals by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,041 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $34,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,526 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of United States Lime & Minerals by 5.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,553 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,392,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of United States Lime & Minerals by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 14,216 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of United States Lime & Minerals by 958.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,489 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 9,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of United States Lime & Minerals by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,289 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,019,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.12% of the company’s stock.

About United States Lime & Minerals

United States Lime & Minerals, Inc manufactures and supplies lime and limestone products in the United States. It extracts limestone from open-pit quarries and an underground mine, and processes it as pulverized limestone, quicklime, hydrated lime, and lime slurry. The company supplies its products primarily to the construction customers, including highway, road, and building contractors; industrial customers, such as paper and glass manufacturers; environmental customers comprising municipal sanitation and water treatment facilities, and flue gas treatment processes; oil and gas services companies; roof shingle manufacturers; and poultry producers.