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

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) was the target of a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 36,620,373 shares, an increase of 54.2% from the July 15th total of 23,746,851 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 14,337,053 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on GGB shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Itau BBA Securities lowered Gerdau from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. 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. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 price target (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.28.

Insider Activity

In other Gerdau news, insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 30,935 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total transaction of $138,898.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Marcos Zilles Mattiello sold 10,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total transaction of $53,077.57. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,322 shares of company stock worth $324,176. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

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

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of GGB stock opened at $4.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.87. The firm has a market cap of $9.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 1.48. Gerdau has a 52 week low of $2.85 and a 52 week high of $5.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.32.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.15. Gerdau had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 7.97%. The company had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Gerdau will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.0448 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

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.