Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Downgraded by Scotiabank to Hold

Scotiabank lowered shares of Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on GGB. UBS Group increased their price target on Gerdau from $6.10 to $6.40 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Gerdau from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Gerdau from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. HSBC cut shares of Gerdau from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Gerdau from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Gerdau currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.65.

Gerdau Stock Performance

GGB stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $4.38. The company had a trading volume of 14,994,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,172,724. Gerdau has a one year low of $3.14 and a one year high of $5.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.47.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). Gerdau had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Gerdau will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.0637 per share. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0448. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Gerdau’s payout ratio is 53.57%.

Insider Activity at Gerdau

In related news, Chairman Claudio Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.94, for a total transaction of $422,898.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Rafael Lopes sold 51,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.09, for a total transaction of $263,662.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $424,500.91. The trade was a 38.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGB. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the 3rd quarter valued at $145,390,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 2nd quarter worth $70,663,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 11,393.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 13,107,580 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Gerdau by 76.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,936,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,725,200 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One North America Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the third quarter worth $38,760,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

About Gerdau

Gerdau SA is a Brazil-based steel producer with operations across the Americas. The company manufactures and sells steel products for the construction, industrial, automotive, agricultural and infrastructure markets.

Its product portfolio includes long steel products such as rebar, wire rod, merchant bars and structural shapes, as well as special steel used in automotive and industrial applications. Gerdau also produces flat steel and semi-finished products, including billets and slabs, and operates steel mills, scrap-processing facilities and related distribution networks.

Founded in 1901, Gerdau has grown from a regional Brazilian steelmaker into an international producer serving customers in Brazil, North America and other parts of Latin America.