Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $4.19 and traded as high as $4.77. Gerdau shares last traded at $4.7240, with a volume of 9,829,916 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GGB shares. Scotiabank upgraded Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $5.25 price objective (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a report 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 for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.28.

Gerdau Price Performance

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 company’s fifty day moving average is $4.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.19. The stock has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53 and a beta of 1.50.

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). Gerdau had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.0361 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Gerdau news, insider Clemir Uhlein sold 38,276 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.51, for a total value of $172,624.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da sold 432,854 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total transaction of $2,107,998.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 432,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,107,998.98. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 671,765 shares of company stock worth $3,200,865 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Gerdau by 68.9% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 3,931 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Gerdau by 95.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 5,216 shares during the last quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.