ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Stock Position in GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 858,626 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,925 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.33% of GrafTech International worth $1,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EAF. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in GrafTech International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,465,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,618,477 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in GrafTech International by 5.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,925,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,154 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in GrafTech International by 61.9% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,222,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,785,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in GrafTech International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,954,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Colonial House Capital Ltd purchased 2,303,599 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.78 per share, with a total value of $4,100,406.22. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 29,535,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,573,323.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of 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. Citigroup decreased 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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. Finally, UBS Group initiated 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GrafTech International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1.88.

GrafTech International Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:EAF traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1.52. 3,641,702 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,540,280. 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 company has a market cap of $390.88 million, a PE ratio of -1.52 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.11. GrafTech International Ltd. has a twelve month low of $1.18 and a twelve month high of $5.32.

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

GrafTech International 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.