GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) Short Interest Update

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,660,000 shares, a decline of 6.3% from the January 15th total of 15,640,000 shares. Currently, 8.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GrafTech International news, CFO Rory F. O’donnell bought 50,000 shares of GrafTech International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.04 per share, with a total value of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,000. The trade was a 100.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GrafTech International

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EAF. Wolverine Trading LLC purchased a new position in GrafTech International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of GrafTech International during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of GrafTech International by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 21,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 10,307 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of GrafTech International in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Sonora Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 29,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

GrafTech International Price Performance

GrafTech International stock opened at $1.08 on Wednesday. GrafTech International has a 12 month low of $0.52 and a 12 month high of $2.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.79, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38. 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 $276.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.92 and a beta of 0.97.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last posted 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 business earned ($0.27) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that GrafTech International will post -0.43 EPS for the current 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.