Insider Selling: Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) CEO Sells $2,107,998.98 in Stock

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da sold 432,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total transaction of $2,107,998.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 432,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,107,998.98. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, April 8th, Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da sold 50,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total transaction of $200,500.00.

Gerdau Price Performance

GGB opened at $4.71 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.90. The firm has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44 and a beta of 1.51. Gerdau S.A. has a twelve month low of $2.61 and a twelve month high of $4.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share 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 net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 6.76%. Equities research analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.0361 per share. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 68.9% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 3,931 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.