Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $4.60.

Several equities analysts have commented on GGB shares. Scotiabank raised shares of Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Friday. Finally, Itau BBA Securities raised Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday.

Gerdau Stock Up 5.4%

Shares of GGB stock traded up $0.20 on Wednesday, hitting $3.81. The stock had a trading volume of 2,016,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,839,918. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $3.92 and a 200 day moving average of $3.66. Gerdau has a 12-month low of $2.27 and a 12-month high of $4.66. The stock has a market cap of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71, 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 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Gerdau will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were issued a $0.0194 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. Gerdau’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Guilherme Chagas G. Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total transaction of $281,647.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Gerdau by 1.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 24,211,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $89,341,000 after acquiring an additional 7,982,296 shares during the period. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd increased its holdings in Gerdau by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd now owns 19,526,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,052,000 after acquiring an additional 1,724,943 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Gerdau by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,894,871 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910,482 shares during the period. Finally, Causeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Gerdau by 169.2% in the 3rd quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 7,189,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,287,000 after purchasing an additional 4,519,092 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

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.