Gerdau S.A. (GGB) To Go Ex-Dividend on August 21st

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.0448 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, September 18th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This is a 24.1% increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04.

Gerdau has increased its dividend by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years. Gerdau has a payout ratio of 28.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Gerdau to earn $0.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.11 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.6%.

Gerdau Stock Performance

GGB opened at $5.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.29. Gerdau has a 1 year low of $2.85 and a 1 year high of $5.18. The company has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96 and a beta of 1.48.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 3.37%. Research analysts expect that Gerdau will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.25 target price (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gerdau currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.28.

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.