Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average After Insider Selling

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday following insider buying activity. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $4.03 and traded as high as $4.77. Gerdau shares last traded at $4.7150, with a volume of 10,101,997 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Gerdau Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47 and a beta of 1.48. 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 50-day simple moving average of $4.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.03.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.05). Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 2.40%.The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.0361 per share. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is 75.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Gerdau by 11,393.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,222,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,734,000 after acquiring an additional 13,107,580 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in Gerdau by 4.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,421,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,133,000 after buying an additional 62,607 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gerdau by 57.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 4,842 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Gerdau by 76.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,936,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,481,000 after acquiring an additional 4,725,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the first quarter valued at approximately $272,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.