Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Boosts Stock Position in GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) by 251.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,530 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 29,006 shares during the quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC’s holdings in GrafTech International were worth $89,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EAF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in GrafTech International by 11.1% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 629,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,060,000 after buying an additional 63,036 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of GrafTech International by 855.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 7,267 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of GrafTech International by 63.7% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 104,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 40,816 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of GrafTech International by 4.8% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 213,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,053,000 after purchasing an additional 9,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of GrafTech International by 7.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,304,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,170,000 after purchasing an additional 152,298 shares during the last quarter. 92.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EAF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on GrafTech International from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group began coverage on GrafTech International in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $2.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on GrafTech International from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on GrafTech International from $4.00 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1.88.

Insider Transactions at GrafTech International

In other news, major shareholder Gp Ltd Bcp sold 3,922,786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.20, for a total transaction of $8,630,129.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,352,826 shares in the company, valued at $51,376,217.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

GrafTech International Stock Up 6.2 %

EAF traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $1.38. The company had a trading volume of 2,867,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,339,124. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.35. GrafTech International Ltd. has a 12-month low of $1.18 and a 12-month high of $5.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.90, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 3.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $354.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.38 and a beta of 1.16.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by ($0.13). GrafTech International had a negative return on equity of 39.57% and a negative net margin of 41.14%. The business had revenue of $137.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. GrafTech International’s revenue was down 44.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that GrafTech International Ltd. will post -0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.