Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Receives $5.28 Consensus PT from Analysts

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.2833.

GGB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 target price (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th.

Insider Activity at Gerdau

In other news, insider Cesar Obino Da Rosa Peres sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.60, for a total value of $36,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36.80. This represents a 99.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mauricio Metz sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.85, for a total transaction of $33,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,536 shares in the company, valued at $109,299.60. This trade represents a 23.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 60,935 shares of company stock worth $281,148 over the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GGB. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 24,211,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $89,341,000 after purchasing an additional 7,982,296 shares during the last quarter. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd grew its stake in Gerdau by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd now owns 19,526,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,052,000 after buying an additional 1,724,943 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Gerdau by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,894,871 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,274,000 after buying an additional 2,910,482 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Gerdau by 76.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,936,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,481,000 after buying an additional 4,725,200 shares during the period. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its position in Gerdau by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 4,894,496 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,061,000 after buying an additional 403,454 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Gerdau Price Performance

Gerdau stock opened at $4.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.30. Gerdau has a 12-month low of $2.85 and a 12-month high of $5.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.0448 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. Gerdau’s payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

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.