Why U.S. Silica's Shares Jumped

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of chemical maker U.S. Silica Holdings (NYS: SLCA) rose 10% today after releasing earnings.

So what: Revenue jumped 58% to $115.9 million and net income rose 83% to $18.8 million, or $0.36 per share. Analysts only expected revenue of $104 million and earnings of $0.33 per share.

Now what: Oil and gas proppants was the company's biggest growth driver with a 166% increase in sales. I wouldn't expect this kind of growth to continue next year as shale drilling growth slows in the U.S., but the company is clearly performing well right now. Shares are trading at just eight times next year's earnings estimates and considering the recent performance I think that gives shares a lot of room to move higher.

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The article Why U.S. Silica's Shares Jumped originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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