Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.1167.

A number of analysts have weighed in on GGB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Scotiabank upgraded Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 price objective (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities raised Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st.

Gerdau Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE GGB opened at $4.70 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.35 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Gerdau has a 12 month low of $2.61 and a 12 month high of $4.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.94.

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

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.0361 dividend. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Gerdau’s payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Clemir Uhlein sold 38,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.51, for a total transaction of $172,624.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 76,700 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total transaction of $344,383.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 92,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $413,955.55. This trade represents a 45.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 823,856 shares of company stock worth $3,722,025 over the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Gerdau by 11,393.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,222,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,734,000 after buying an additional 13,107,580 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Gerdau by 4.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,421,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,133,000 after buying an additional 62,607 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Gerdau by 57.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 4,842 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 76.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,936,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,481,000 after acquiring an additional 4,725,200 shares during the period. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the first quarter worth approximately $272,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.