Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Insider Sells $105,250.00 in Stock

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.21, for a total value of $105,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 168,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,047.95. This represents a 12.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Chia Yuan Wang also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, April 8th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 34,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.00, for a total value of $136,000.00.

Gerdau Stock Performance

NYSE GGB opened at $4.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Gerdau S.A. has a 1-year low of $2.48 and a 1-year high of $4.66.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 6.20%. On average, research analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.0194 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 1st quarter worth approximately $109,000. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 1st quarter worth approximately $380,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 822,772 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,036,000 after purchasing an additional 27,229 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 286,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 14,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 133,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 30,800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Gerdau from $4.40 to $4.60 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gerdau currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4.90.

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.