Analysts Set Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Target Price at $4.90

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.1167.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 price objective (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank raised Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Itau BBA Securities raised Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th.

Gerdau Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE GGB opened at $4.51 on Friday. 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 has a one year low of $2.48 and a one year high of $4.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of 28.20 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $3.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.82.

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

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.0361 per share. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. 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%. Gerdau’s payout ratio is currently 37.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gerdau

In other news, Chairman Guilherme Chagas G. Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total transaction of $281,647.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marcos Eduardo Fara Wahrhaftig sold 12,419 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.06, for a total value of $50,421.14. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 324,002 shares of company stock worth $1,299,596 in the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GGB. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 65.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 582,949 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 231,588 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Gerdau by 54.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,363,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,393,000 after buying an additional 1,541,311 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 821.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,089,675 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in Gerdau by 88.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 70,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 32,961 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

About Gerdau

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.