United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM) Short Interest Up 34.7% in January

United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 359,700 shares, an increase of 34.7% from the January 15th total of 267,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 125,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

United States Lime & Minerals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:USLM opened at $102.67 on Friday. United States Lime & Minerals has a 52-week low of $49.02 and a 52-week high of $159.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06 and a beta of 0.91.

United States Lime & Minerals (NASDAQ:USLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The construction company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter. United States Lime & Minerals had a net margin of 34.27% and a return on equity of 24.55%.

United States Lime & Minerals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This is a positive change from United States Lime & Minerals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. United States Lime & Minerals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy W. Byrne sold 22,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.73, for a total value of $3,155,051.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 125,004 shares in the company, valued at $17,716,816.92. This represents a 15.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of United States Lime & Minerals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in United States Lime & Minerals by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,361 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United States Lime & Minerals by 691.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 1,750 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning bought a new position in United States Lime & Minerals during the third quarter valued at about $258,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in United States Lime & Minerals during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management raised its position in United States Lime & Minerals by 422.8% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 58,666 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,729,000 after acquiring an additional 47,444 shares during the period. 27.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut United States Lime & Minerals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday.

About United States Lime & Minerals

United States Lime & Minerals, Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of lime and limestone products. Its products include High Calcium Quicklime, Hydrated Lime, Lime Kiln Dust, Lime Slurry, and High Calcium Limestone. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Dallas, TX.