GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1.75.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of GrafTech International from $1.20 to $1.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of GrafTech International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th.

GrafTech International Price Performance

Shares of EAF opened at $1.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $442.33 million, a PE ratio of -1.58 and a beta of 0.98. GrafTech International has a 1-year low of $0.52 and a 1-year high of $3.54. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.22.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $137.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.48 million. GrafTech International had a negative return on equity of 121.77% and a negative net margin of 50.11%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that GrafTech International will post -0.43 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of GrafTech International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EAF. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of GrafTech International by 287.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,065,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,759,449 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its holdings in GrafTech International by 89.4% during the 1st quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,456,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,010,000 after buying an additional 687,595 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of GrafTech International by 60.8% during the second quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 868,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 328,565 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of GrafTech International in the second quarter worth $155,000. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of GrafTech International by 9.6% during the second quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 1,808,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,754,000 after acquiring an additional 157,776 shares during the last quarter. 92.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GrafTech International Company 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.