JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Price Target to $6.00

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $5.50 to $6.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 44.06% from the company’s current price.

GGB has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Friday, March 27th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 1st. Scotiabank raised shares of Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 price objective (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gerdau presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.28.

Gerdau Price Performance

GGB traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $4.17. 996,857 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,294,320. Gerdau has a twelve month low of $2.83 and a twelve month high of $4.98. The company has a market cap of $8.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.12.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its 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). Gerdau had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Gerdau will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da sold 432,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total value of $2,107,998.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 432,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,107,998.98. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Clemir Uhlein sold 38,276 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.51, for a total value of $172,624.76. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 794,184 shares of company stock valued at $3,697,276. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Gerdau by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,034,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,197,000 after buying an additional 943,254 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 1.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,046,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $96,243,000 after acquiring an additional 581,958 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 56.5% in the third quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 4,491,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621,938 shares during the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $22,287,000 after acquiring an additional 4,519,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,327,066 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,897,000 after acquiring an additional 386,594 shares during the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.