Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Raises Dividend to $0.04 Per Share

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of 0.0448 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, September 18th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This is a 24.1% increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04.

Gerdau has raised its dividend by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years. Gerdau has a payout ratio of 28.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Gerdau to earn $0.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.11 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.6%.

Gerdau Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:GGB traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $5.09. The stock had a trading volume of 6,213,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,749,475. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.76. The company has a market cap of $10.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.20 and a beta of 1.48. Gerdau has a 12-month low of $2.85 and a 12-month high of $5.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $4.55 and its 200-day moving average is $4.28.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.15. Gerdau had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gerdau will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gerdau

In other news, insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 30,935 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total transaction of $138,898.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cesar Obino Da Rosa Peres sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.60, for a total transaction of $36,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36.80. This trade represents a 99.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 493,789 shares of company stock worth $2,389,147 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Gerdau by 45.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,034,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,197,000 after acquiring an additional 943,254 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,327,066 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,897,000 after acquiring an additional 386,594 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 49.2% during 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 grew its position in shares of Gerdau by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd now owns 19,526,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,052,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Gerdau in the fourth quarter worth about $2,952,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.