Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Scotiabank

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) was upgraded by equities researchers at Scotiabank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $4.60 target price (up from $4.00) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4.60.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGB opened at $3.48 on Thursday. Gerdau has a 12-month low of $2.27 and a 12-month high of $4.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3.96 and a 200 day moving average of $3.65.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 1.93%.The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Gerdau will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gerdau news, Chairman Guilherme Chagas G. Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total value of $281,647.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 1.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,046,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $96,243,000 after buying an additional 581,958 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its holdings in Gerdau by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 24,211,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $89,341,000 after acquiring an additional 7,982,296 shares during the last quarter. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd lifted its stake in Gerdau by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd now owns 19,526,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,052,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724,943 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,894,871 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Causeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 169.2% during the 3rd quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 7,189,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,287,000 after purchasing an additional 4,519,092 shares during the last quarter. 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.