Insider Selling: Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Chairman Sells $281,647.03 in Stock

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Chairman Guilherme Chagas Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total value of $281,647.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Gerdau Price Performance

GGB opened at $3.42 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $3.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.65. Gerdau S.A. has a 1 year low of $2.27 and a 1 year high of $4.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.46.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). Gerdau had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.0194 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. Gerdau’s payout ratio is 41.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 314.9% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 262,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 199,115 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 1.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,046,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $96,243,000 after buying an additional 581,958 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,958,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,440,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth $981,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4.60 price target (up from $4.00) on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4.60.

Gerdau Company Profile

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.