GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,770,000 shares, a drop of 5.6% from the August 31st total of 18,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.8 days. Approximately 10.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 704,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,543,000 after acquiring an additional 190,225 shares in the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC increased its stake in GrafTech International by 248.7% during the 4th quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 137,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 98,200 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new position in GrafTech International during the fourth quarter worth $1,684,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of GrafTech International by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 217,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 27,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sun Life Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of GrafTech International in the fourth quarter valued at $1,843,000. 92.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EAF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of GrafTech International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of GrafTech International from $1.20 to $1.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, GrafTech International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1.75.

GrafTech International Stock Performance

NYSE:EAF opened at $1.38 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38. GrafTech International has a twelve month low of $0.52 and a twelve month high of $3.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $0.79 and a 200-day moving average of $1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $354.89 million, a P/E ratio of -1.27 and a beta of 0.94.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $137.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.48 million. GrafTech International had a negative net margin of 50.11% and a negative return on equity of 121.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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.