Graham Corporation (NYSE:GHM) Short Interest Down 13.6% in March

Key Points

• Short interest fell 13.6% in March to 307,422 shares, implying a days-to-cover of 2.4 and representing about 3.0% of shares sold short.
• Shares rose 6.2% to $96.57, trading near a 52-week high; the company has a market cap of $1.07 billion and a P/E of 71.53.
• Graham beat quarterly estimates with $0.31 EPS (vs. $0.17 est.) and $56.7M revenue, while analysts' consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $81.67.

Graham Corporation (NYSE:GHM - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 307,422 shares, a decrease of 13.6% from the March 15th total of 355,787 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 130,225 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Graham Trading Up 6.2%

GHM stock traded up $5.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $96.57. 76,573 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 119,594. Graham has a 52-week low of $28.49 and a 52-week high of $96.92. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.53 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's fifty day moving average is $83.88 and its 200-day moving average is $70.56.

Graham (NYSE:GHM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.14. Graham had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 13.26%. The company had revenue of $56.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.36 million. Equities research analysts expect that Graham will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Graham

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in Graham during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Graham in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Graham by 62.8% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,063 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Graham by 396.2% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,052 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Graham in the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. 69.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Graham from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Graham in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Graham from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Northland Securities raised shares of Graham from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graham presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.67.

About Graham

Graham Corporation NYSE: GHM is a U.S.-based industrial engineering company that designs, manufactures and services vacuum and heat transfer equipment. Its core offerings include liquid ring vacuum pumps, surface condensers, heat exchangers and custom-engineered vacuum systems. These products play a critical role in energy-intensive industries, where reliable removal of non-condensable gases and efficient heat exchange are vital to process performance.

The company's technologies find application across a range of end markets, including power generation, petrochemical, oil and gas, LNG, and semiconductor manufacturing.

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