Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?
by Scott Moore · The Cerbat GemGerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB – Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $4.72 and last traded at $4.7150, with a volume of 6736003 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $4.50.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Friday, March 27th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 target price (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.12.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Gerdau
Gerdau Price Performance
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 stock has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.82.
Gerdau (NYSE:GGB – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 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 firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. Research analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Gerdau Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.0361 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.50%.
Insider Transactions at Gerdau
In other Gerdau news, EVP Marcos Eduardo Fara Wahrhaftig sold 12,419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.06, for a total value of $50,421.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Guilherme Chagas G. Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total transaction of $281,647.03. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 344,002 shares of company stock worth $1,390,396 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GGB. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Gerdau by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 582,949 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 231,588 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Gerdau by 54.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,363,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,311 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Gerdau by 821.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,344,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,657,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089,675 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Gerdau by 88.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 70,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 32,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company’s stock.
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.