Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Downgraded to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.80.

Gerdau Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGB opened at $3.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Gerdau has a 1-year low of $2.27 and a 1-year high of $3.62. The company has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.92.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). Gerdau had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 6.51%. The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Research analysts expect that Gerdau will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a $0.0216 dividend. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. Gerdau’s payout ratio is presently 27.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Gerdau by 162.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,984,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,914,000 after purchasing an additional 8,039,814 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau in the first quarter worth $30,134,000. Carrhae Capital LLP bought a new stake in Gerdau in the first quarter worth $18,655,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in Gerdau in the second quarter worth $17,440,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Gerdau by 54.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,363,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,311 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

About Gerdau

Gerdau SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer company. The company operates through Brazil Business, North America Business, South America Business, and Special Steel Business segments. It also provides semi-finished products, including billets, blooms, and slabs; common long rolled products, such as rebars, wire rods, merchant bars, light shapes, and profiles to the construction and manufacturing industries; drawn products comprising barbed and barbless fence wires, galvanized wires, fences, concrete reinforcing wire mesh, nails, and clamps for manufacturing, construction, and agricultural industries; and special steel products used in auto parts, light and heavy vehicles, and agricultural machinery, as well as in the oil and gas, wind energy, machinery and equipment, mining and rail, and other markets.