Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB – Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.57.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GGB shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Gerdau from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Gerdau to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $6.10 target price (up from $5.70) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. HSBC cut Gerdau from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Gerdau to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Check Out Our Latest Report on GGB

Gerdau Price Performance

NYSE:GGB opened at $5.03 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 firm has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $4.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.62. Gerdau has a 1-year low of $3.14 and a 1-year high of $5.48.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.15. Gerdau had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 7.97%. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Gerdau will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $0.0448 dividend. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0361. Gerdau’s payout ratio is currently 65.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gerdau news, CFO Rafael Japur sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.10, for a total transaction of $51,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 86,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,531.70. This represents a 10.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rafael Lopes sold 51,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.09, for a total value of $263,662.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 83,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $424,500.91. The trade was a 38.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,407 shares of company stock worth $737,561. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Gerdau by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,452,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,015,000 after buying an additional 419,918 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at $145,390,000. Ninety One North America Inc. acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,760,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Gerdau by 60.9% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 48,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 18,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gerdau by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 82,870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 6,376 shares in the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gerdau Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Gerdau SA is a Brazilian steel producer and one of the major suppliers of long steel in the Americas. The company manufactures products including rebar, wire rod, structural shapes, merchant bars and other steel products used in construction, infrastructure, industrial manufacturing and agricultural equipment.

Gerdau also produces special steel for the automotive, machinery and other industrial sectors, as well as flat steel products through its operations in Brazil. Its business includes steel recycling, with a significant portion of its production based on ferrous scrap, and the company operates a network of steel mills, fabrication facilities and distribution centers.

Founded in Brazil in 1901, Gerdau serves customers across Brazil, North America and South America.

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Analyst Recommendations for Gerdau (NYSE:GGB)

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