Two Sigma Investments LP Has $42.64 Million Position in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) by 49.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,804,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,928,378 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned approximately 0.71% of Gerdau worth $42,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Gerdau by 221.1% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,236,271 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,560,000 after purchasing an additional 851,203 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Gerdau by 164.3% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 515,417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 320,404 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Gerdau by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 208,977 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 16,313 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,279,000. Finally, Barclays PLC bought a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 4th quarter valued at about $434,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGB opened at $2.76 on Wednesday. Gerdau S.A. has a 1 year low of $2.27 and a 1 year high of $3.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.95.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06. Gerdau had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 7.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.0188 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous dividend of $0.00. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on Gerdau from $3.30 to $2.90 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, April 7th.

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.