Insider Selling: Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Insider Sells 10,387 Shares

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) insider Marcos Zilles Mattiello sold 10,387 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total value of $53,077.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of GGB traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $4.75. 1,191,202 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,359,295. Gerdau S.A. has a twelve month low of $2.85 and a twelve month high of $5.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.31. 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 capitalization of $9.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63 and a beta of 1.48.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 7.97%. Analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.0448 dividend. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Gerdau’s payout ratio is 52.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Itau BBA Securities downgraded Gerdau from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 target price (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gerdau currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.28.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GGB. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Gerdau by 11.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Xponance LLC lifted its position 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 worth $76,000 after buying an additional 2,845 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Gerdau by 11.9% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 3,196 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Gerdau by 68.9% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,931 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 5.7% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 76,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 4,151 shares during the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is 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.