Wall Street Zen Downgrades GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) to Strong Sell

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on EAF. Zacks Research cut shares of GrafTech International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on GrafTech International from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of GrafTech International in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating on shares of GrafTech International in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of GrafTech International from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $10.67.

GrafTech International Stock Performance

NYSE:EAF opened at $6.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.01 million, a PE ratio of -0.98 and a beta of 1.84. GrafTech International has a 52-week low of $4.92 and a 52-week high of $20.32.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported ($1.47) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.46) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $127.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.02 million. Equities analysts forecast that GrafTech International will post -6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of GrafTech International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of GrafTech International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of GrafTech International in the 4th quarter valued at about $157,000. 9823 Capital L.P. purchased a new position in GrafTech International in the fourth quarter worth $177,000. Ramsey Quantitative Systems purchased a new position in GrafTech International during the 2nd quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Prelude Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of GrafTech International during the third quarter valued at about $192,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

GrafTech International Company Profile

GrafTech International (NYSE: EAF) is a leading global manufacturer of graphite electrodes and other specialty graphite products used primarily in electric arc furnaces (EAFs) for steel production. The company’s core offerings include ultrahigh-power, high-power and regular power electrodes, along with related accessories such as graphite shapes and heterogeneous carbon materials. These products play a critical role in steelmaking by conducting the high electrical currents required to melt scrap steel efficiently and with reduced environmental impact compared to traditional blast furnace methods.

With a manufacturing footprint spanning North America, Europe and Asia, GrafTech serves steel producers and foundries worldwide.