Gerdau S.A. $GGB Shares Purchased by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) by 45.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,034,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 943,254 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Gerdau were worth $11,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GGB. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Gerdau by 95.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 5,216 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da sold 432,854 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total value of $2,107,998.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 432,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,107,998.98. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Clemir Uhlein sold 38,276 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.51, for a total value of $172,624.76. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 823,856 shares of company stock worth $3,722,025. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGB has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Scotiabank upgraded Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 price target (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.12.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of GGB stock opened at $4.61 on Friday. Gerdau S.A. has a 12-month low of $2.61 and a 12-month high of $4.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.05). Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 2.40%.The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.0361 dividend. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.50%.

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.