GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) Short Interest Down 6.3% in January

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,660,000 shares, a drop of 6.3% from the January 15th total of 15,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.0 days. Approximately 8.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity at GrafTech International

In other news, CFO Rory F. O’donnell bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.04 per share, with a total value of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $104,000. The trade was a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GrafTech International

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in GrafTech International by 475.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,458,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after buying an additional 2,031,652 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in GrafTech International by 385.5% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 175,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 139,513 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in GrafTech International by 81.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in GrafTech International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in GrafTech International by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 101,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 23,413 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

GrafTech International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EAF traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $1.11. 497,019 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,298,285. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38, a current ratio of 3.79 and a quick ratio of 1.98. GrafTech International has a 52-week low of $0.52 and a 52-week high of $2.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.46. The company has a market cap of $284.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.94 and a beta of 0.97.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.27) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that GrafTech International will post -0.43 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on EAF. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on GrafTech International from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised GrafTech International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on GrafTech International from $1.00 to $2.20 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $2.00 price objective on shares of GrafTech International in a research note on Monday, February 10th.

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.