Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.2833.

Several brokerages have issued reports on GGB. 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 note on Wednesday, April 1st. Scotiabank upgraded Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 price objective (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th.

Gerdau Trading Up 2.7%

GGB stock opened at $4.41 on Friday. Gerdau has a twelve month low of $2.83 and a twelve month high of $4.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.16.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 2.40%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gerdau will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.0361 per share. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.00%.

Insider Transactions at Gerdau

In other news, insider Clemir Uhlein sold 38,276 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.51, for a total value of $172,624.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mauricio Metz sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.85, for a total transaction of $33,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,299.60. This trade represents a 23.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 671,765 shares of company stock valued at $3,200,865 over the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Gerdau by 68.9% during 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 during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 95.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 5,216 shares during the period. Greenspring Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the third quarter valued at $37,000. 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.