Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Trading 6.5% Higher – What’s Next?

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) shares rose 6.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $4.99 and last traded at $4.9950. Approximately 1,273,163 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 17,799,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GGB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Gerdau to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. HSBC lowered shares of Gerdau from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Itau BBA Securities lowered shares of Gerdau from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gerdau has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.45.

Gerdau Trading Down 0.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $4.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.34.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion during 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%. Analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.0448 per share. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Gerdau’s payout ratio is presently 65.22%.

Insider Transactions at Gerdau

In other news, CFO Rafael Japur sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.10, for a total value of $51,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 86,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $443,531.70. This represents a 10.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Marcos Zilles Mattiello sold 10,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total transaction of $53,077.57. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Gerdau by 65.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 582,949 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 231,588 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Gerdau by 54.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,363,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,541,311 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Gerdau by 821.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,344,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,657,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089,675 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Gerdau by 88.8% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 70,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 32,961 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

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.