Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $3.80 and last traded at $3.7950, with a volume of 3247691 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGB has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $4.60 price target (up previously from $4.00) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.60.

Gerdau Stock Up 2.6%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.01). Gerdau had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 4.38%.The company had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. Research analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.0521 per share. This represents a $0.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Gerdau’s payout ratio is 74.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau in the first quarter valued at about $30,134,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Gerdau by 162.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,984,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,914,000 after purchasing an additional 8,039,814 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in Gerdau in the 2nd quarter worth about $17,440,000. Causeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 169.2% in the third quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 7,189,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,287,000 after buying an additional 4,519,092 shares during the period. Finally, Kawa Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,011,000. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

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.