Short Interest in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Declines By 81.9%

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,754,991 shares, a decrease of 81.9% from the January 29th total of 26,236,663 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 36,541,488 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 36,541,488 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GGB. BSW Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Gerdau by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 53,697 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Gerdau by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 26,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607 shares during the period. Xponance LLC boosted its position in Gerdau by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 20,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,845 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Gerdau by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 3,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Gerdau by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 45,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 3,312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GGB. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4.60 target price (up from $4.00) on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Gerdau from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.60.

Gerdau Price Performance

NYSE:GGB traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $4.09. The stock had a trading volume of 5,240,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,898,432. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a PE ratio of 34.04, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46. Gerdau has a 52 week low of $2.27 and a 52 week high of $4.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $4.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.89.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.04). Gerdau had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gerdau will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.0194 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is currently 166.67%.

About Gerdau

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.