Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyGerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB – Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday. The company traded as high as $5.48 and last traded at $5.3440, with a volume of 2760173 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.01.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GGB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Gerdau from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.10 target price (up from $5.70) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Itau BBA Securities downgraded shares of Gerdau from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Gerdau to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.57.
Gerdau Price Performance
The firm has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.53.
Gerdau (NYSE:GGB – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. Gerdau had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Gerdau Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $0.0448 dividend. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0361. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.22%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Gerdau
In other news, Chairman Claudio Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.94, for a total value of $422,898.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rafael Japur sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.10, for a total transaction of $51,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 86,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,531.70. This trade represents a 10.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,407 shares of company stock valued at $737,561. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in Gerdau during the 2nd quarter valued at about $70,663,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 11,393.6% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the second quarter worth about $16,291,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its stake in shares of Gerdau by 124.7% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 7,010,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,322,000 after acquiring an additional 3,890,093 shares during the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Gerdau
Gerdau SA is a Brazilian steel producer and one of the major suppliers of long steel in the Americas. The company manufactures products including rebar, wire rod, structural shapes, merchant bars and other steel products used in construction, infrastructure, industrial manufacturing and agricultural equipment.
Gerdau also produces special steel for the automotive, machinery and other industrial sectors, as well as flat steel products through its operations in Brazil. Its business includes steel recycling, with a significant portion of its production based on ferrous scrap, and the company operates a network of steel mills, fabrication facilities and distribution centers.
Founded in Brazil in 1901, Gerdau serves customers across Brazil, North America and South America.