Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) EVP Sells $24,250.00 in Stock

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) EVP Mauricio Metz sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.85, for a total transaction of $24,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 34,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,499.60. This trade represents a 12.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Mauricio Metz also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, May 5th, Mauricio Metz sold 2,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.69, for a total value of $9,380.00.
• On Tuesday, April 28th, Mauricio Metz sold 1,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.53, for a total value of $4,530.00.
• On Friday, April 10th, Mauricio Metz sold 1,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.24, for a total value of $4,240.00.

Gerdau Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE GGB opened at $4.61 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.91. The firm has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.78 and a beta of 1.51. Gerdau S.A. has a twelve month low of $2.61 and a twelve month high of $4.98.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. Analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Gerdau’s payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Gerdau by 68.9% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 3,931 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Gerdau by 95.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 5,216 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gerdau during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Gerdau during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Gerdau during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.