Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da Sells 432,854 Shares of Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Stock

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da sold 432,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total value of $2,107,998.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 432,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,107,998.98. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, April 8th, Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da sold 50,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total value of $200,500.00.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of GGB stock opened at $4.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.76. Gerdau S.A. has a 1 year low of $2.61 and a 1 year high of $4.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.89. The firm has a market cap of $9.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.18 and a beta of 1.51.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.05). Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 2.40%.The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. Analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.0361 per share. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is 37.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BSW Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 53,697 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 26,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607 shares in the last quarter. Xponance LLC boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 20,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,845 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 3,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 3,230 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GGB has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 price target (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Scotiabank raised Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Itau BBA Securities raised Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gerdau has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.12.

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.