Graham (NYSE:GHM) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Graham Corporation (NYSE:GHM) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $86.90, but opened at $91.05. Graham shares last traded at $89.6960, with a volume of 17,857 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Graham from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Graham from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Graham to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Graham from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Graham in a report on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.33.

Graham Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.45 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.22.

Graham (NYSE:GHM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.22. Graham had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 4.53%.The firm had revenue of $71.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Graham’s revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Graham Corporation will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Graham during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $110,235,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Graham by 6,323.0% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 706,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,538,000 after acquiring an additional 695,530 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graham in the second quarter valued at $45,159,000. Agman Capital LLC purchased a new position in Graham in the fourth quarter valued at $14,079,000. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new position in Graham in the second quarter valued at $11,141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.46% of the company’s stock.

Graham Company Profile

Graham Corporation (NYSE: GHM) designs and manufactures specialized equipment and systems for defense, aerospace, and energy markets. Its products include vacuum equipment, heat exchangers, condensers, ejectors, and related thermal-management systems used in demanding industrial and government applications.

The company serves the U.S. Navy and other government customers, as well as commercial clients in areas such as power generation and process industries. Graham also provides engineering, fabrication, testing, installation, and aftermarket support services for its equipment and systems.

Founded in 1936 and headquartered in Batavia, New York, Graham has expanded its capabilities through acquisitions, including Barber-Nichols, a Colorado-based engineering and manufacturing business focused on turbomachinery, propulsion, and power-conversion technologies.