Insider Buying: GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) Major Shareholder Acquires 163,250 Shares of Stock

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) major shareholder Colonial House Capital Ltd bought 163,250 shares of GrafTech International stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.81 per share, for a total transaction of $295,482.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 30,411,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,044,114.53. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Friday, May 3rd, Colonial House Capital Ltd purchased 533,009 shares of GrafTech International stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.77 per share, with a total value of $943,425.93.
• On Friday, April 26th, Colonial House Capital Ltd acquired 179,279 shares of GrafTech International stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1.48 per share, for a total transaction of $265,332.92.
• On Tuesday, April 16th, Colonial House Capital Ltd bought 2,303,599 shares of GrafTech International stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1.78 per share, with a total value of $4,100,406.22.

GrafTech International Stock Down 2.2 %

EAF traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $1.77. 2,644,065 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,517,964. GrafTech International Ltd. has a 12-month low of $1.18 and a 12-month high of $5.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.74, a current ratio of 3.73 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1.60 and a 200 day moving average of $1.95.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GrafTech International

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of GrafTech International by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 109,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 3,665 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in GrafTech International by 39.2% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 14,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 4,147 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in GrafTech International by 1.0% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 451,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in GrafTech International by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 30,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 5,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of GrafTech International by 211.9% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 9,511 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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