Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) CFO Sells $51,000.00 in Stock

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) CFO Rafael Dorneles Japur sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.10, for a total value of $51,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 86,967 shares in the company, valued at $443,531.70. The trade was a 10.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Rafael Dorneles Japur also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 22nd, Rafael Dorneles Japur sold 5,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.75, for a total transaction of $23,750.00.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of GGB stock opened at $4.82 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.31. Gerdau S.A. has a 12 month low of $2.85 and a 12 month high of $5.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 1.48.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 7.97%. Analysts forecast that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.0448 per share. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Itau BBA Securities downgraded shares of Gerdau from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.25 target price (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.28.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GGB. BSW Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Gerdau by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 26,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 2,607 shares during the last quarter. Xponance LLC increased its holdings in Gerdau by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 20,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 2,845 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position 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 worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 3,196 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Gerdau by 68.9% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 3,931 shares during the period. 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.