Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Short Interest Update

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) was the target of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,599,233 shares, an increase of 27.9% from the March 31st total of 4,378,053 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 21,810,367 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on GGB. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.25 target price (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gerdau has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Guilherme Chagas G. Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total value of $281,647.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marcos Eduardo Fara Wahrhaftig sold 12,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.06, for a total transaction of $50,421.14. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 324,002 shares of company stock worth $1,299,596. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGB. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Gerdau by 162.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,984,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,914,000 after buying an additional 8,039,814 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in 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 worth $89,341,000 after buying an additional 7,982,296 shares in the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Gerdau by 169.2% in the 3rd quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 7,189,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,287,000 after buying an additional 4,519,092 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Gerdau by 821.1% in the 1st 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 worth $6,657,000 after buying an additional 2,089,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Gerdau in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,400,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Gerdau Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:GGB traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $4.56. The stock had a trading volume of 6,060,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,830,334. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.76. The company has a market cap of $9.10 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53 and a beta of 1.44. Gerdau has a 12-month low of $2.48 and a 12-month high of $4.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $3.87 and its 200-day moving average is $3.81.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 6.76%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gerdau will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.0361 dividend. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Gerdau’s payout ratio is currently 37.50%.

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.