GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) Research Coverage Started at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF – Get Rating) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, The Fly reports. The firm issued a neutral rating on the stock.

Separately, Citigroup dropped their target price on GrafTech International from $6.00 to $5.00 in a research note on Sunday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $7.00.

GrafTech International Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:EAF opened at $4.34 on Tuesday. GrafTech International has a 12-month low of $3.75 and a 12-month high of $9.27. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 3.84, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 28th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.01). GrafTech International had a return on equity of 87.51% and a net margin of 23.86%. The business had revenue of $138.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 62.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

GrafTech International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 30th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. GrafTech International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.12%.

Institutional Trading of GrafTech International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in GrafTech International by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,358,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,423,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680,064 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,925,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,163,000 after buying an additional 1,237,154 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 18,310,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,990,000 after buying an additional 3,297,984 shares during the period. Yacktman Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 8,534,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,476,000 after buying an additional 438,296 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of GrafTech International in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,465,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.74% of the company’s stock.

About GrafTech International

(Get Rating)

GrafTech International Ltd. engages in the manufacture of graphite electrode products essential to the production of electric arc furnace steel and other ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The firm also produces a needle coke product which is a raw material in producing graphite electrodes. Its customers include steel producers and other ferrous and non-ferrous metal producers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Americas and Asia-Pacific, which sell its products into the automotive, construction, appliance, machinery, equipment, and transportation industries.