Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) CFO Rafael Dorneles Japur Sells 10,000 Shares

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) CFO Rafael Dorneles Japur sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.10, for a total value of $51,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 86,967 shares in the company, valued at $443,531.70. The trade was a 10.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Rafael Dorneles Japur also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 22nd, Rafael Dorneles Japur sold 5,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.75, for a total value of $23,750.00.

Gerdau Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of GGB stock traded up $0.03 on Monday, reaching $4.97. The company had a trading volume of 6,857,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,629,936. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $4.57 and a 200-day moving average of $4.30. Gerdau S.A. has a 12 month low of $2.85 and a 12 month high of $5.18.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion for 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.0448 per share. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Gerdau’s payout ratio is 52.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Gerdau by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 582,949 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 231,588 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 54.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,363,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,393,000 after buying an additional 1,541,311 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Gerdau by 821.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,344,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,657,000 after buying an additional 2,089,675 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in Gerdau by 88.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 70,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 32,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on GGB. Weiss Ratings raised Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $5.25 target price (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.28.

Gerdau Company Profile

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.