Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.02

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.0194 per share by the basic materials company on Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th.

Gerdau has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years. Gerdau has a payout ratio of 50.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Gerdau to earn $0.47 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.19 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.4%.

Gerdau Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Gerdau stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.16. The company had a trading volume of 19,584,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,331,768. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $4.07 and its 200-day moving average is $3.57. Gerdau has a fifty-two week low of $2.27 and a fifty-two week high of $4.66. The company has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.70.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.04). Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 1.93%.The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Gerdau will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Gerdau from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.60 target price (up from $4.00) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.60.

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.