Clemir Uhlein Sells 38,276 Shares of Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Stock

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) insider Clemir Uhlein sold 38,276 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.51, for a total transaction of $172,624.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Gerdau Stock Down 1.3%

Gerdau stock opened at $4.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.20 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Gerdau S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $2.48 and a fifty-two week high of $4.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.81.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 2.40%. As a group, analysts forecast that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.0361 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on GGB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 reissued a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 target price (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.12.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BSW Wealth Partners increased its stake in Gerdau by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 53,697 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Gerdau by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 26,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607 shares during the period. Xponance LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,845 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Gerdau by 11.9% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 3,196 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 3,230 shares during the period. 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.