Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The basic materials company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.04), Zacks reports. Gerdau had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 5.92%.

Gerdau Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of GGB stock traded down $0.03 on Monday, reaching $4.15. 17,194,009 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,676,057. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.55. Gerdau has a 52 week low of $2.27 and a 52 week high of $4.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.46.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GGB. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 286,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 14,142 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in Gerdau by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 133,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 30,800 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Gerdau by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,117,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,286,000 after buying an additional 1,837,160 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in Gerdau by 86.8% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 588,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 273,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in Gerdau during the 4th quarter valued at $91,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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