Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da Purchases 165,224 Shares of Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Stock

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da purchased 165,224 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.73 per share, with a total value of $781,509.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 165,224 shares in the company, valued at $781,509.52. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 8th, Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da sold 432,854 shares of Gerdau stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total transaction of $2,107,998.98.
• On Wednesday, April 8th, Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da sold 50,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total transaction of $200,500.00.

Gerdau Stock Down 2.0%

NYSE GGB traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $4.65. 13,294,031 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,585,281. Gerdau S.A. has a 52-week low of $2.80 and a 52-week high of $4.98. The firm has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.0361 dividend. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors grew its position in Gerdau by 1.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,046,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $96,243,000 after buying an additional 581,958 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its position in Gerdau by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 24,211,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $89,341,000 after buying an additional 7,982,296 shares during the period. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd grew its position in Gerdau by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd now owns 19,526,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,052,000 after buying an additional 1,724,943 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Gerdau by 22.4% during the third 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 buying an additional 2,910,482 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 76.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,936,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,725,200 shares during the period. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by 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.