GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1.75.

EAF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of GrafTech International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th.

GrafTech International Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE EAF opened at $0.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $167.70 million, a PE ratio of -0.60 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38. GrafTech International has a 12-month low of $0.52 and a 12-month high of $3.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $0.84 and a 200 day moving average of $1.31.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GrafTech International

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sun Life Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of GrafTech International during the fourth quarter worth $1,843,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of GrafTech International in the 4th quarter worth $1,684,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 704,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,543,000 after acquiring an additional 190,225 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of GrafTech International by 43.2% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 195,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 59,013 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in GrafTech International during the fourth quarter worth about $160,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

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.