ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 56,925 Shares of GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 858,626 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,925 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in GrafTech International were worth $1,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of GrafTech International during the 4th quarter worth $1,954,000. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of GrafTech International during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 251.7% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 40,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 29,006 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 919.7% during the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 483,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after buying an additional 435,925 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of GrafTech International during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. 92.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on EAF. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 shares of 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. UBS Group began coverage on shares of GrafTech International in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $2.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of GrafTech International from $4.00 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1.88.

GrafTech International Price Performance

Shares of EAF stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,641,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,540,280. GrafTech International Ltd. has a 1-year low of $1.18 and a 1-year high of $5.32. The company has a market cap of $390.88 million, a P/E ratio of -1.52 and a beta of 1.14. 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’s 50-day moving average is $1.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.11.

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

Insider Activity

In other GrafTech International news, major shareholder Colonial House Capital Ltd acquired 2,303,599 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1.78 per share, for a total transaction of $4,100,406.22. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 29,535,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,573,323.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.