United States Lime & Minerals (NASDAQ:USLM) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

United States Lime & Minerals Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ USLM opened at $102.67 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.25. United States Lime & Minerals has a 12-month low of $49.02 and a 12-month high of $159.53.

United States Lime & Minerals (NASDAQ:USLM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This is a positive change from United States Lime & Minerals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. United States Lime & Minerals’s payout ratio is currently 5.27%.

Insider Transactions at United States Lime & Minerals

In other United States Lime & Minerals news, CEO Timothy W. Byrne sold 22,261 shares of United States Lime & Minerals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.73, for a total transaction of $3,155,051.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 125,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,716,816.92. The trade was a 15.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in USLM. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in United States Lime & Minerals by 537.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,844 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 4,927 shares during the last quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United States Lime & Minerals by 400.0% in the third quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 6,250 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of United States Lime & Minerals by 355.4% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 12,683 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 9,898 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its position in shares of United States Lime & Minerals by 400.0% during the third quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 66,850 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,529,000 after acquiring an additional 53,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in United States Lime & Minerals by 422.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 308,049 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,089,000 after acquiring an additional 249,115 shares during the period. 27.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.