Should You Buy U.S. Silica Holdings Inc (SLCA)?

As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Anchor Bolt Capital, managed by Robert Polak, created the most outsized position in U.S. Silica Holdings Inc (NYSE:SLCA). Anchor Bolt Capital had $34.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Muller’s PDT Partners also made a $13.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new SLCA investors: Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold’s LMR Partners, Eric Sprott’s Sprott Asset Management, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to U.S. Silica Holdings Inc (NYSE:SLCA). These stocks are Cousins Properties Inc (NYSE:CUZ), Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM), WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC), and Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI). This group of stocks’ market caps match SLCA’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 19 funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $423 million at the end of September, which compares with $751 million in SLCA’s case. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Cousins Properties Inc (NYSE:CUZ) is the least popular one with only nine funds holding shares. Compared to these stocks U.S. Silica Holdings Inc (NYSE:SLCA) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.