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

United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM) was the recipient of a significant 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 days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at United States Lime & Minerals

In other United States Lime & Minerals news, CEO Timothy W. Byrne sold 22,261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Lime & Minerals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in United States Lime & Minerals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $586,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United States Lime & Minerals by 106.5% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 9,955 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 5,135 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United States Lime & Minerals in the 4th quarter valued at $863,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of United States Lime & Minerals during the 4th quarter valued at $237,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of United States Lime & Minerals by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,928 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares during the last quarter. 27.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

United States Lime & Minerals Price Performance

Shares of United States Lime & Minerals stock opened at $102.67 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06 and a beta of 0.91. United States Lime & Minerals has a 1 year low of $49.02 and a 1 year high of $159.53.

United States Lime & Minerals (NASDAQ:USLM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The construction company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from United States Lime & Minerals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. United States Lime & Minerals’s dividend payout ratio is 5.27%.

United States Lime & Minerals Company Profile

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.