Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 107,155 GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 107,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $185,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EAF. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in GrafTech International by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 343,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 20,902 shares during the period. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 31.8% during the 4th 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. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 30,102 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of GrafTech International by 475.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,458,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after buying an additional 2,031,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 81.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,536,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,623,000 after acquiring an additional 2,029,350 shares during the period. 92.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

GrafTech International Trading Up 6.5 %

Shares of EAF stock opened at $0.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38, a current ratio of 4.55 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company has a market cap of $164.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.25 and a beta of 1.15. GrafTech International Ltd. has a 1 year low of $0.52 and a 1 year high of $2.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.52.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned ($0.27) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that GrafTech International Ltd. will post -0.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on GrafTech International from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $2.00 price target on shares of GrafTech International in a research report on Monday, February 10th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rory F. O’donnell acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.04 per share, for a total transaction of $52,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,000. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

GrafTech International 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.