Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Insider Chia Yuan Wang Sells 40,000 Shares

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.75, for a total transaction of $190,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,926.25. This represents a 55.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Chia Yuan Wang also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, April 30th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 20,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.54, for a total transaction of $90,800.00.
• On Tuesday, April 28th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 76,700 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total transaction of $344,383.00.
• On Friday, April 10th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 25,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.21, for a total transaction of $105,250.00.
• On Wednesday, April 8th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 34,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.00, for a total transaction of $136,000.00.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGB traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $4.76. 15,516,635 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,038,121. The firm has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72 and a beta of 1.51. Gerdau S.A. has a twelve month low of $2.55 and a twelve month high of $4.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) 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). The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 2.40%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.0361 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is 37.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GGB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $5.25 price target (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gerdau has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.12.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the first quarter worth about $45,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the first quarter worth about $46,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the first quarter worth about $52,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Gerdau by 5.7% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 76,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Gerdau by 4.2% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 857,336 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 34,564 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.