Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on GGB. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4.60 price target (up from $4.00) on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4.60.

Gerdau Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:GGB opened at $3.48 on Thursday. Gerdau has a twelve month low of $2.27 and a twelve month high of $4.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.65.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). Gerdau had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Gerdau will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.0194 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gerdau news, Chairman Guilherme Chagas G. Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total value of $281,647.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GGB. BSW Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 53,697 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares during the period. 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 valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 2,607 shares in the last quarter. Xponance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 20,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 2,845 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 22.3% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 3,230 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Gerdau by 7.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 45,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 3,312 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

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.