GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,672,876 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 136,644 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in GrafTech International were worth $8,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EAF. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in GrafTech International by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,053,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,671,000 after acquiring an additional 59,424 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in GrafTech International by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,461,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,719,000 after acquiring an additional 93,722 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in GrafTech International by 475.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,458,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,031,652 shares in the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC raised its position in GrafTech International by 138.3% during the fourth quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 1,122,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after acquiring an additional 651,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in GrafTech International by 13.6% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 885,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 106,091 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

GrafTech International Stock Up 15.9 %

GrafTech International stock opened at $0.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.00 million, a PE ratio of -1.39 and a beta of 1.15. GrafTech International Ltd. has a 12 month low of $0.52 and a 12 month high of $2.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38, a current ratio of 4.55 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rory F. O’donnell acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1.04 per share, with a total value of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,000. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EAF shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on GrafTech International from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $2.00 price objective on shares of GrafTech International in a research report on Monday, February 10th.

GrafTech International Company 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.