Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Upgraded at Itau BBA Securities

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) was upgraded by analysts at Itau BBA Securities from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $4.60 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. Itau BBA Securities’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 27.25% from the stock’s current price.

GGB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank raised Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.60 target price (up from $4.00) on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gerdau has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.60.

Gerdau Price Performance

Shares of GGB opened at $3.62 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Gerdau has a 12 month low of $2.27 and a 12 month high of $4.66.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.04). Gerdau had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Gerdau will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gerdau

In other news, Chairman Guilherme Chagas G. Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total transaction of $281,647.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BSW Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Gerdau by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 53,697 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Gerdau by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 26,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607 shares during the period. Xponance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 20,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,845 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 22.3% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 3,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 7.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 45,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 3,312 shares during the period. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.