Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGBGet Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.45.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Gerdau to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Itau BBA Securities downgraded shares of Gerdau from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. HSBC cut shares of Gerdau from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Gerdau from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.10 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $6.10 target price (up from $5.70) on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Thursday.

View Our Latest Research Report on GGB

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da acquired 165,224 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.73 per share, with a total value of $781,509.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 165,224 shares in the company, valued at $781,509.52. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mauricio Metz sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.85, for a total value of $33,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,299.60. The trade was a 23.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,322 shares of company stock worth $276,926. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 2nd quarter worth about $70,663,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Gerdau by 11,393.6% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 13,107,580 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Gerdau by 76.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,725,200 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Gerdau during the second quarter worth about $16,291,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Gerdau during the first quarter worth about $9,618,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Gerdau Stock Down 2.3%

GGB opened at $4.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96 and a beta of 1.48. Gerdau has a 12 month low of $2.98 and a 12 month high of $5.18.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGBGet Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Gerdau will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.0448 per share. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.22%.

About Gerdau

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Gerdau (NYSE:GGB)

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