Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) issued its earnings results on Monday. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.03), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 3.37%.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGB traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $4.76. 39,495,869 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,145,104. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.45. Gerdau has a 1-year low of $3.14 and a 1-year high of $5.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.0448 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0361. Gerdau’s payout ratio is presently 65.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gerdau

In other news, EVP Rafael Lopes sold 51,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.09, for a total value of $263,662.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 83,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,500.91. This represents a 38.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rafael Japur sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.10, for a total transaction of $51,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 86,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,531.70. The trade was a 10.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 147,407 shares of company stock valued at $737,561 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on GGB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Gerdau to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $6.10 price objective (up from $5.70) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. HSBC downgraded shares of Gerdau from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Gerdau from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.10 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.57.

Gerdau Company Profile

Gerdau SA is a Brazil-based steel producer with operations across the Americas. The company manufactures and sells steel products for the construction, industrial, automotive, agricultural and infrastructure markets.

Its product portfolio includes long steel products such as rebar, wire rod, merchant bars and structural shapes, as well as special steel used in automotive and industrial applications. Gerdau also produces flat steel and semi-finished products, including billets and slabs, and operates steel mills, scrap-processing facilities and related distribution networks.

Founded in 1901, Gerdau has grown from a regional Brazilian steelmaker into an international producer serving customers in Brazil, North America and other parts of Latin America.