William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $7.72 Million Position in GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF)

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,461,906 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 93,722 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in GrafTech International were worth $7,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of GrafTech International during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in GrafTech International during the 4th quarter worth about $185,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of GrafTech International by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 343,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 20,902 shares during the last quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of GrafTech International by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 29,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in GrafTech International by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 148,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 30,102 shares during the period. 92.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

GrafTech International Stock Performance

Shares of GrafTech International stock opened at $1.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.27 million, a P/E ratio of -2.03 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 4.55, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.52. GrafTech International Ltd. has a 12 month low of $0.52 and a 12 month high of $2.53.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.01. GrafTech International had a negative net margin of 24.34% and a negative return on equity of 709.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.27) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that GrafTech International Ltd. will post -0.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at GrafTech International

In other GrafTech International news, CFO Rory F. O’donnell purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.04 per share, with a total value of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,000. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EAF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of GrafTech International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $2.00 price objective on shares of GrafTech International in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on GrafTech International from $1.00 to $2.20 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd.

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.