GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) Major Shareholder Colonial House Capital Ltd Acquires 533,009 Shares of Stock

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) major shareholder Colonial House Capital Ltd acquired 533,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.77 per share, for a total transaction of $943,425.93. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 30,247,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,538,717.51. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Colonial House Capital Ltd also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, April 26th, Colonial House Capital Ltd acquired 179,279 shares of GrafTech International stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.48 per share, for a total transaction of $265,332.92.
• On Tuesday, April 16th, Colonial House Capital Ltd acquired 2,303,599 shares of GrafTech International stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.78 per share, for a total transaction of $4,100,406.22.

GrafTech International Stock Performance

Shares of EAF opened at $1.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.74, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 3.73. The company has a market capitalization of $465.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.66 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.95. GrafTech International Ltd. has a 1 year low of $1.18 and a 1 year high of $5.32.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $136.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.73 million. GrafTech International had a negative net margin of 45.08% and a negative return on equity of 66.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that GrafTech International Ltd. will post -0.43 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GrafTech International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of GrafTech International by 12.0% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 123,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 13,203 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in GrafTech International by 396.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 104,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 83,209 shares during the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. increased its position in GrafTech International by 5.8% during the first quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 1,650,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,278,000 after purchasing an additional 90,752 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. increased its position in GrafTech International by 13.8% during the first quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. now owns 1,803,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 218,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its position in GrafTech International by 71.2% during the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 34,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 14,243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on EAF shares. Citigroup reduced 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of GrafTech International from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of GrafTech International in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $2.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of GrafTech International from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GrafTech International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.