Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Rating Lowered to Neutral at Bank of America

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) was downgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $5.10 target price on the basic materials company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.71% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on GGB. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.25 price target (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Itau BBA Securities downgraded Gerdau from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.24.

Gerdau Price Performance

NYSE:GGB opened at $4.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.87. The firm has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33 and a beta of 1.48. Gerdau has a 52 week low of $2.85 and a 52 week high of $5.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.32.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. Gerdau had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 7.97%. The company had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gerdau will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Gerdau

In other news, EVP Mauricio Metz sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.85, for a total value of $33,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,536 shares in the company, valued at $109,299.60. This trade represents a 23.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Marcos Zilles Mattiello sold 10,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total value of $53,077.57. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,322 shares of company stock worth $324,176. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GGB. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Gerdau by 68.9% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 3,931 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Gerdau by 95.3% in the second 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 last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Gerdau during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Greenspring Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

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.