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

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) major shareholder Colonial House Capital Ltd purchased 2,303,599 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1.78 per share, for a total transaction of $4,100,406.22. Following the acquisition, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

GrafTech International Trading Up 2.7 %

GrafTech International stock opened at $1.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.90, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 3.54. The firm has a market cap of $390.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.52 and a beta of 1.14. GrafTech International Ltd. has a 1 year low of $1.18 and a 1 year high of $5.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.11.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $137.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $141.20 million. GrafTech International had a negative return on equity of 39.57% and a negative net margin of 41.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 44.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that GrafTech International Ltd. will post -0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in GrafTech International by 5.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,925,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,163,000 after buying an additional 1,237,154 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its stake in GrafTech International by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 22,971,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,981,000 after purchasing an additional 2,618,477 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in GrafTech International by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,494,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,010,000 after purchasing an additional 716,235 shares during the period. Yacktman Asset Management LP boosted its stake in GrafTech International by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 11,922,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580,133 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in GrafTech International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,465,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of GrafTech International in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $2.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of GrafTech International from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of GrafTech International from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of GrafTech International from $4.00 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, GrafTech International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1.88.

About GrafTech International

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.