GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1.75.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EAF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of GrafTech International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sun Life Financial Inc. bought a new position in GrafTech International during the fourth quarter worth $1,843,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new position in GrafTech International during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,684,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in GrafTech International by 37.0% in the 4th 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. lifted its position in shares of GrafTech International by 43.2% in the 1st 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 acquired a new stake in shares of GrafTech International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $160,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

GrafTech International Stock Performance

Shares of EAF stock opened at $1.13 on Friday. GrafTech International has a fifty-two week low of $0.52 and a fifty-two week high of $3.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $0.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market cap of $290.60 million, a P/E ratio of -1.04 and a beta of 0.94.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $137.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.48 million. GrafTech International had a negative net margin of 50.11% and a negative return on equity of 121.77%. Analysts predict that GrafTech International will post -0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About GrafTech International

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.