Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Stock Moved Down to Buy by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on GGB. HSBC downgraded shares of Gerdau from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered Gerdau from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.10 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Gerdau to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Gerdau from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.65.

Gerdau Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE GGB opened at $4.65 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $4.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.46. 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 capitalization of $9.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 1.48. Gerdau has a 12-month low of $3.14 and a 12-month high of $5.48.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 8.90%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Gerdau will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.0637 per share. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0448. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. Gerdau’s payout ratio is presently 53.57%.

Insider Transactions at Gerdau

In related news, EVP Rafael Lopes sold 51,800 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.09, for a total transaction of $263,662.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,399 shares in the company, valued at $424,500.91. This trade represents a 38.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rafael Japur sold 10,000 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.10, for a total transaction of $51,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 86,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $443,531.70. The trade was a 10.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 147,407 shares of company stock worth $737,561. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new position in Gerdau during the 3rd quarter worth $145,390,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in Gerdau during the 2nd quarter valued at $70,663,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 11,393.6% in 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 buying an additional 13,107,580 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 76.1% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,936,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,481,000 after buying an additional 4,725,200 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One North America Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau during the third quarter valued at $38,760,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gerdau Company Profile

Gerdau SA is a Brazil-based steel producer with operations across the Americas. The company manufactures and sells steel products for the construction, industrial, automotive, agricultural and infrastructure markets.

Its product portfolio includes long steel products such as rebar, wire rod, merchant bars and structural shapes, as well as special steel used in automotive and industrial applications. Gerdau also produces flat steel and semi-finished products, including billets and slabs, and operates steel mills, scrap-processing facilities and related distribution networks.

Founded in 1901, Gerdau has grown from a regional Brazilian steelmaker into an international producer serving customers in Brazil, North America and other parts of Latin America.