Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Insider Marcos Zilles Mattiello Sells 10,387 Shares

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) insider Marcos Zilles Mattiello sold 10,387 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total value of $53,077.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Gerdau Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:GGB opened at $4.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.58 and a 200 day moving average of $4.31. The company has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59 and a beta of 1.48. Gerdau S.A. 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 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released 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 company had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 7.97%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.0448 per share. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Gerdau by 68.9% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,931 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 95.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 5,216 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Greenspring Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.25 price target (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Itau BBA Securities lowered Gerdau from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.