Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Insider Chia Yuan Wang Sells 30,935 Shares

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 30,935 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total transaction of $138,898.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, May 5th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 40,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.75, for a total transaction of $190,000.00.
• On Thursday, April 30th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 20,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.54, for a total transaction of $90,800.00.
• On Tuesday, April 28th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 76,700 shares of Gerdau stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total transaction of $344,383.00.
• On Friday, April 10th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 25,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.21, for a total value of $105,250.00.
• On Wednesday, April 8th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 34,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.00, for a total value of $136,000.00.

Gerdau Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of GGB stock opened at $4.76 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $4.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.02. Gerdau S.A. has a 1-year low of $2.80 and a 1-year high of $4.98. The company has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72 and a beta of 1.48. 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 results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 2.40%. On average, research analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.0361 dividend. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. 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. Gerdau’s payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 11,393.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,222,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,734,000 after purchasing an additional 13,107,580 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Gerdau by 4.6% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,421,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,133,000 after buying an additional 62,607 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Gerdau by 57.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 4,842 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Gerdau by 76.1% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,936,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,481,000 after buying an additional 4,725,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 1st quarter worth $272,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Friday, March 27th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 target price (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Scotiabank raised 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.12.

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.