Insider Buying: GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) CFO Acquires 50,000 Shares of Stock

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) CFO Rory F. O’donnell purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.04 per share, with a total value of $52,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,000. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

GrafTech International Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EAF opened at $1.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38, a current ratio of 3.79 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.44. GrafTech International Ltd. has a 1 year low of $0.52 and a 1 year high of $2.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $294.46 million, a PE ratio of -0.98 and a beta of 0.97.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.01. GrafTech International had a negative return on equity of 459.99% and a negative net margin of 55.21%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.27) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that GrafTech International Ltd. will post -0.43 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in GrafTech International by 475.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,458,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,031,652 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in shares of GrafTech International by 385.5% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 175,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 139,513 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of GrafTech International by 81.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,536,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,623,000 after buying an additional 2,029,350 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of GrafTech International in the third quarter valued at about $156,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in GrafTech International by 30.0% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 101,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 23,413 shares during the period. 92.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EAF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $2.00 target price on shares of GrafTech International in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of GrafTech International from $1.00 to $2.20 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised GrafTech International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of GrafTech International from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th.

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.