Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Insider Cesar Obino Da Rosa Peres Sells 8,000 Shares of Stock

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) insider Cesar Obino Da Rosa Peres sold 8,000 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.60, for a total transaction of $36,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36.80. The trade was a 99.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of GGB opened at $4.76 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. The stock has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.72 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $4.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.95. Gerdau S.A. has a 12-month low of $2.61 and a 12-month high of $4.98.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 2.40%. As a group, research analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.0361 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is 75.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Gerdau by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,034,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,197,000 after purchasing an additional 943,254 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Gerdau by 1.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,046,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $96,243,000 after buying an additional 581,958 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Gerdau during the third quarter valued at approximately $981,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Gerdau during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,958,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda lifted its position in Gerdau by 56.5% during the third quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 4,491,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,922,000 after buying an additional 1,621,938 shares in the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.