Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $3.69 and traded as high as $4.19. Gerdau shares last traded at $4.1850, with a volume of 27,991,740 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on GGB shares. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Gerdau from $4.40 to $4.60 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.60.

Gerdau Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $3.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.70.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 1.93%. As a group, research analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.0194 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gerdau

In other Gerdau news, Chairman Guilherme Chagas G. Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total value of $281,647.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.00, for a total value of $136,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 193,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,580. This represents a 14.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 169,607 shares of company stock worth $618,147 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Gerdau by 68.9% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,931 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gerdau by 95.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 5,216 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.