Squarepoint Ops LLC Trims Stock Holdings in GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lessened its position in shares of GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 425,432 shares of the company’s stock after selling 161,975 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in GrafTech International were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EAF. Sun Life Financial Inc. purchased a new position in GrafTech International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,843,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of GrafTech International in the fourth quarter worth $160,000. Welch Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 71.2% during the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 34,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 14,243 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. lifted its position in GrafTech International by 13.8% during the first quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. now owns 1,803,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 218,418 shares during the period. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. lifted its position in GrafTech International by 5.8% during the first quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 1,650,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,278,000 after purchasing an additional 90,752 shares during the period. 92.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded GrafTech International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on GrafTech International from $1.20 to $1.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1.75.

GrafTech International Stock Performance

Shares of EAF stock opened at $1.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 4.22. The firm has a market cap of $388.32 million, a P/E ratio of -1.39 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $0.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.21. GrafTech International Ltd. has a one year low of $0.52 and a one year high of $3.89.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.06. GrafTech International had a negative net margin of 50.11% and a negative return on equity of 121.77%. The company had revenue of $137.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.48 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that GrafTech International Ltd. will post -0.43 EPS for the current year.

GrafTech International Profile

GrafTech International Ltd. research, develops, manufactures, and sells graphite and carbon-based solutions worldwide. The company offers graphite electrodes to produce electric arc furnace steel and other ferrous and non-ferrous metals; and petroleum needle coke, a crystalline form of carbon used in the production of graphite electrodes and synthetic graphite.