It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' Loss making companies can act like a sponge for capital - so investors should be cautious that they're not throwing good money after bad.
Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like U.S. Silica Holdings (NYSE:SLCA). While this doesn't necessarily speak to whether it's undervalued, the profitability of the business is enough to warrant some appreciation - especially if its growing.
See our latest analysis for U.S. Silica Holdings
How Fast Is U.S. Silica Holdings Growing Its Earnings Per Share?
Over the last three years, U.S. Silica Holdings has grown earnings per share (EPS) at as impressive rate from a relatively low point, resulting in a three year percentage growth rate that isn't particularly indicative of expected future performance. So it would be better to isolate the growth rate over the last year for our analysis. Impressively, U.S. Silica Holdings' EPS catapulted from US$1.04 to US$1.88, over the last year. It's a rarity to see 82% year-on-year growth like that.
One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. While revenue is looking a bit flat, the good news is EBIT margins improved by 6.5 percentage points to 18%, in the last twelve months. That's a real positive.
In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.
Fortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of U.S. Silica Holdings' future profits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you can take a peek at what the professionals are predicting.
Are U.S. Silica Holdings Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
It's a necessity that company leaders act in the best interest of shareholders and so insider investment always comes as a reassurance to the market. Shareholders will be pleased by the fact that insiders own U.S. Silica Holdings shares worth a considerable sum. To be specific, they have US$33m worth of shares. This considerable investment should help drive long-term value in the business. Even though that's only about 3.3% of the company, it's enough money to indicate alignment between the leaders of the business and ordinary shareholders.