Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $4.99 and last traded at $4.9850, with a volume of 2877759 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on GGB shares. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 price objective (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, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gerdau presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.28.

Gerdau Stock Down 1.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.41 and a beta of 1.50.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.05). Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 2.40%.The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cesar Obino Da Rosa Peres sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.60, for a total transaction of $36,800.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36.80. This trade represents a 99.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 30,935 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total value of $138,898.15. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 535,789 shares of company stock worth $2,588,527 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,931 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 95.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 5,216 shares during the last quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Gerdau during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.