Causeway Capital Management LLC Has $22.29 Million Stake in Gerdau S.A. $GGB

Causeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) by 169.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,189,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,519,092 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC owned 0.36% of Gerdau worth $22,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Gerdau by 68.9% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 3,931 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Gerdau in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 95.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 5,216 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Regatta Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Gerdau during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $4.60 price objective (up from $4.00) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.60.

Gerdau Price Performance

Shares of GGB opened at $3.59 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Gerdau S.A. has a 1 year low of $2.27 and a 1 year high of $4.66. The stock has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.63.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 1.93%.The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a $0.0194 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 166.67%.

About Gerdau

Gerdau SA is a Brazilian-based steel producer engaged in the manufacture and distribution of long steel products for the construction, industrial and agricultural sectors. Established in 1901, the company operates an integrated network of electric-arc furnaces and rolling mills, producing reinforcement bars, wire rod, merchant bars and structural shapes. Gerdau’s product portfolio also includes specialty long steel, high-yield reinforcement, rail, beams and steel coils, as well as value-added processing services such as cutting, bending and coating.

The company has expanded its footprint beyond Brazil, with significant operations in North America, South America and a presence in select European markets.