Graham (NYSE:GHM) Hits New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Graham (NYSE:GHM) hit a new 52-week high of $94.97 (last at $92.54) with 155,075 shares traded, while the MarketBeat consensus price target of $81.67 remains well below the current share price.
• Analyst interest has increased recently—Zacks upgraded to Strong Buy, Northland to Outperform, and Oppenheimer initiated coverage with an Outperform and $100 target—leaving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• The company reported an earnings beat (Q: $0.31 EPS vs. $0.17 expected) and revenue above estimates, but trades at a high valuation (P/E 68.55); institutional ownership is ~69.5% with large recent inflows from Auto Owners and Invesco.

Graham Corporation (NYSE:GHM - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $94.97 and last traded at $92.54, with a volume of 155075 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $93.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on GHM shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Graham from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Graham from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Graham from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Graham in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.67.

Graham Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.55 and a beta of 0.95. The company's fifty day moving average price is $83.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.27.

Graham (NYSE:GHM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $56.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.36 million. Graham had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 13.26%. Analysts anticipate that Graham Corporation will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in Graham by 6,323.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 706,530 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,538,000 after buying an additional 695,530 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Graham by 1,993.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 135,879 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,728,000 after purchasing an additional 129,388 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Graham during the 4th quarter valued at about $948,000. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Graham by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 47,865 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,074,000 after purchasing an additional 7,311 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Graham by 52.3% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 9,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 3,354 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.46% of the company's stock.

Graham Company Profile

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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