Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gerdau has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.80.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGB traded down $0.07 on Tuesday, hitting $3.40. 4,781,398 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,211,875. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.06. Gerdau has a 1-year low of $2.27 and a 1-year high of $3.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.46.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.01). Gerdau had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 6.51%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Gerdau will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GGB. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Gerdau during the third quarter worth $34,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Gerdau in the third quarter valued at $71,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 1,873.7% in the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 315,043 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 299,081 shares during the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gerdau Company Profile

Gerdau SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer company. The company operates through Brazil Business, North America Business, South America Business, and Special Steel Business segments. It also provides semi-finished products, including billets, blooms, and slabs; common long rolled products, such as rebars, wire rods, merchant bars, light shapes, and profiles to the construction and manufacturing industries; drawn products comprising barbed and barbless fence wires, galvanized wires, fences, concrete reinforcing wire mesh, nails, and clamps for manufacturing, construction, and agricultural industries; and special steel products used in auto parts, light and heavy vehicles, and agricultural machinery, as well as in the oil and gas, wind energy, machinery and equipment, mining and rail, and other markets.