Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $4.58 and traded as high as $5.19. Gerdau shares last traded at $5.1450, with a volume of 7,163,915 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GGB. Weiss Ratings raised Gerdau from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.10 price target (up from $5.70) on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Gerdau from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Itau BBA Securities downgraded shares of Gerdau from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Gerdau to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.57.

Gerdau Stock Down 0.2%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.59. The firm has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. Gerdau had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 3.37%. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a $0.0448 dividend. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0361. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Gerdau news, EVP Rafael Lopes sold 51,800 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.09, for a total transaction of $263,662.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,500.91. The trade was a 38.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Claudio Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.94, for a total value of $422,898.58. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 147,407 shares of company stock valued at $737,561 over the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Gerdau by 60.9% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 48,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 18,334 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 8.3% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 82,870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 6,376 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Gerdau by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 176,888 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 3,292 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 124.7% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 7,010,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,322,000 after buying an additional 3,890,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 12.7% in the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 136,038 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 15,356 shares in the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gerdau Company Profile

Gerdau SA is a Brazilian steel producer and one of the major suppliers of long steel in the Americas. The company manufactures products including rebar, wire rod, structural shapes, merchant bars and other steel products used in construction, infrastructure, industrial manufacturing and agricultural equipment.

Gerdau also produces special steel for the automotive, machinery and other industrial sectors, as well as flat steel products through its operations in Brazil. Its business includes steel recycling, with a significant portion of its production based on ferrous scrap, and the company operates a network of steel mills, fabrication facilities and distribution centers.

Founded in Brazil in 1901, Gerdau serves customers across Brazil, North America and South America.