Colonial House Capital Ltd Acquires 2,303,599 Shares of GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) Stock

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) major shareholder Colonial House Capital Ltd acquired 2,303,599 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.78 per share, with a total value of $4,100,406.22. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 29,535,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,573,323.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

GrafTech International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EAF remained flat at $1.49 on Thursday. 2,231,616 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,538,497. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1.52 and its 200-day moving average is $2.13. The company has a market cap of $381.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.48 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.90. GrafTech International Ltd. has a 12-month low of $1.18 and a 12-month high of $5.32.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported ($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $137.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $141.20 million. GrafTech International had a negative return on equity of 39.57% and a negative net margin of 41.14%. The firm’s revenue was down 44.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that GrafTech International Ltd. will post -0.49 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GrafTech International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EAF. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of GrafTech International by 101.5% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 2,690 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in GrafTech International in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of GrafTech International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of GrafTech International by 211.9% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 9,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GrafTech International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EAF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of GrafTech International from $4.00 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. UBS Group assumed coverage on GrafTech International in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $2.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on GrafTech International from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on GrafTech International from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1.88.

GrafTech International Company 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.