Insider Buying: GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) Major Shareholder Purchases 533,009 Shares of Stock

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) major shareholder Colonial House Capital Ltd acquired 533,009 shares of GrafTech International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $1.77 per share, with a total value of $943,425.93. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 30,247,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,538,717.51. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Large shareholders that own more than 10% 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 acquired at an average price of $1.48 per share, with a total value 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, for a total transaction of $4,100,406.22.

GrafTech International Price Performance

NYSE:EAF remained flat at $1.81 during trading hours on Monday. The company had a trading volume of 1,595,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,527,950. 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 quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 3.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.96.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of GrafTech International by 12.9% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 22,971,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,981,000 after buying an additional 2,618,477 shares during the period. Yacktman Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of GrafTech International by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 11,922,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,110,000 after buying an additional 2,580,133 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,521,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,959 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in GrafTech International by 1,425.0% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 4,422,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,686,000 after buying an additional 4,132,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of GrafTech International by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,287,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,761,000 after purchasing an additional 75,943 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on EAF shares. 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 for the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on GrafTech International from $4.00 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on GrafTech International from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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.