GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in shares of GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) by 75.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,077 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62,145 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in GrafTech International were worth $27,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EAF. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 58.4% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 25,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 9,416 shares during the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in GrafTech International during the first quarter valued at $76,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of GrafTech International by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 81,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 8,271 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of GrafTech International by 179.6% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 135,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 87,027 shares during the period. Finally, Fore Capital LLC raised its position in GrafTech International by 25.0% during the first quarter. Fore Capital LLC now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EAF has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered GrafTech International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of GrafTech International from $1.20 to $1.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1.75.

GrafTech International Trading Up 6.6 %

Shares of EAF stock opened at $1.69 on Friday. GrafTech International Ltd. has a 1-year low of $0.52 and a 1-year high of $3.89. The company has a market cap of $433.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $0.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.22.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $137.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.48 million. GrafTech International had a negative net margin of 50.11% and a negative return on equity of 121.77%. On average, equities research analysts expect that GrafTech International Ltd. will post -0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.