Putnam Investments LLC Raises Stake in GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF)

Putnam Investments LLC grew its stake in GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF – Get Rating) by 412.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 252,046 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 202,852 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC’s holdings in GrafTech International were worth $1,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in GrafTech International by 3,054.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 572,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,466,000 after purchasing an additional 554,201 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in GrafTech International by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 41,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 8,687 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in GrafTech International by 344.0% in the 3rd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 261,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 202,459 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. acquired a new position in GrafTech International in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in GrafTech International by 65,112.9% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 973,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,196,000 after purchasing an additional 972,136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on GrafTech International from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on GrafTech International from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th.

GrafTech International Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE:EAF opened at $5.07 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $5.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.21. The company has a current ratio of 3.43, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.38. GrafTech International Ltd. has a 12-month low of $4.07 and a 12-month high of $10.63.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.05). GrafTech International had a return on equity of 161.67% and a net margin of 29.89%. The business had revenue of $247.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $221.00 million. GrafTech International’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.9% on a year-over-year basis.

GrafTech International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 27th. GrafTech International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.72%.

GrafTech International Profile

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GrafTech International Ltd. engages in the manufacture of graphite electrode products essential to the production of electric arc furnace steel and other ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The firm also produces needle coke products which is a raw material to producing graphite electrodes. Its customers include steel producers and other ferrous and non-ferrous metal producers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Americas and Asia-Pacific, which sell its products into the automotive, construction, appliance, machinery, equipment and transportation industries.