William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 93,722 Shares of GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF)

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,461,906 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,722 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.74% of GrafTech International worth $7,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of GrafTech International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in GrafTech International during the 4th quarter worth $185,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 343,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 20,902 shares in the last quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of GrafTech International by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 148,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 30,102 shares in the last quarter. 92.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $2.00 price objective on shares of GrafTech International in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of GrafTech International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on GrafTech International from $1.00 to $2.20 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

GrafTech International Price Performance

EAF stock opened at $1.04 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.52. GrafTech International Ltd. has a 12 month low of $0.52 and a 12 month high of $2.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 4.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38. The firm has a market cap of $266.27 million, a P/E ratio of -2.03 and a beta of 0.92.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.01. GrafTech International had a negative net margin of 24.34% and a negative return on equity of 709.85%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.27) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that GrafTech International Ltd. will post -0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at GrafTech International

In other GrafTech International news, CFO Rory F. O’donnell acquired 50,000 shares of GrafTech International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1.04 per share, with a total value of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,000. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

GrafTech International 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.