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

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.6667.

EAF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of GrafTech International from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of GrafTech International from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of GrafTech International from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of GrafTech International in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of GrafTech International in a report on Tuesday, April 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GrafTech International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management bought a new stake in GrafTech International during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in GrafTech International by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 32,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in GrafTech International by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 94,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 4,067 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 5,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 42.9% in the 1st quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

GrafTech International Trading Up 0.5%

GrafTech International stock opened at $7.68 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.04 million, a PE ratio of -0.89 and a beta of 1.77. GrafTech International has a 12-month low of $4.92 and a 12-month high of $20.32.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($2.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.25) by ($0.80). The firm had revenue of $125.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.60 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that GrafTech International will post -6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GrafTech International Company Profile

GrafTech International (NYSE: EAF) is a leading global manufacturer of graphite electrodes and other specialty graphite products used primarily in electric arc furnaces (EAFs) for steel production. The company’s core offerings include ultrahigh-power, high-power and regular power electrodes, along with related accessories such as graphite shapes and heterogeneous carbon materials. These products play a critical role in steelmaking by conducting the high electrical currents required to melt scrap steel efficiently and with reduced environmental impact compared to traditional blast furnace methods.

With a manufacturing footprint spanning North America, Europe and Asia, GrafTech serves steel producers and foundries worldwide.