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

Shares of GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1.88.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EAF shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on GrafTech International from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on GrafTech International from $4.00 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on GrafTech International from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on GrafTech International in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $2.00 price target for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Colonial House Capital Ltd bought 2,303,599 shares of GrafTech International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.78 per share, for a total transaction of $4,100,406.22. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 29,535,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,573,323.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GrafTech International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EAF. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in GrafTech International by 5.8% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. boosted its stake in GrafTech International by 13.8% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in GrafTech International by 71.2% during the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 34,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 14,243 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in GrafTech International during the 4th quarter valued at $160,000. Finally, Sun Life Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in GrafTech International during the 4th quarter valued at $1,843,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

GrafTech International Price Performance

EAF opened at $1.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.00. GrafTech International has a 12-month low of $1.18 and a 12-month high of $5.32. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $442.32 million, a P/E ratio of -1.58 and a beta of 1.14.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.08. GrafTech International had a negative return on equity of 52.49% and a negative net margin of 45.08%. The firm had revenue of $136.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $125.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.02) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that GrafTech International will post -0.52 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.