Cesar Obino Da Rosa Peres Sells 8,000 Shares of Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Stock

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) insider Cesar Obino Da Rosa Peres sold 8,000 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.60, for a total transaction of $36,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36.80. The trade was a 99.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Gerdau Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE GGB opened at $4.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Gerdau S.A. has a 52 week low of $2.61 and a 52 week high of $4.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $4.12 and its 200 day moving average is $3.95. The company has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.0361 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Gerdau’s payout ratio is presently 75.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BSW Wealth Partners grew its position 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 period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Gerdau by 11.0% in the 4th 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 period. Xponance LLC grew its position in shares of Gerdau by 16.1% in the 4th 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 period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Gerdau by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 3,196 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Gerdau by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 3,230 shares during the period. 1.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.