Insider Selling: Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Insider Sells $190,000.00 in Stock

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.75, for a total transaction of $190,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,195 shares in the company, valued at $152,926.25. The trade was a 55.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Chia Yuan Wang also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, April 30th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 20,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.54, for a total transaction of $90,800.00.
• On Tuesday, April 28th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 76,700 shares of Gerdau stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total transaction of $344,383.00.
• On Friday, April 10th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 25,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.21, for a total transaction of $105,250.00.
• On Wednesday, April 8th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 34,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.00, for a total transaction of $136,000.00.

Gerdau Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Gerdau stock opened at $4.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Gerdau S.A. has a 12-month low of $2.56 and a 12-month high of $4.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.85.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.05). Gerdau had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. Analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.0361 per share. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.50%.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGB. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 68.9% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 3,931 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 95.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 5,216 shares in the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Gerdau during the third quarter worth $32,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Gerdau during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Gerdau during the third quarter worth $34,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GGB. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.25 price objective (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.12.

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.