Gerdau S.A. $GGB Shares Sold by SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda

SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda lowered its stake in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,254,223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 640,273 shares during the period. Gerdau comprises 1.3% of SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda’s holdings in Gerdau were worth $15,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GGB. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Gerdau by 65.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 582,949 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 231,588 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Gerdau by 54.6% during the 1st 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. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Gerdau by 821.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,344,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,657,000 after buying an additional 2,089,675 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the second quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 88.8% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 70,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 32,961 shares during the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Gerdau news, insider Clemir Uhlein sold 38,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.51, for a total value of $172,624.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mauricio Metz sold 7,000 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.85, for a total transaction of $33,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,536 shares in the company, valued at $109,299.60. This represents a 23.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 671,765 shares of company stock worth $3,200,865 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gerdau Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:GGB opened at $4.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.53 and a beta of 1.50. Gerdau S.A. has a 1 year low of $2.83 and a 1 year high of $4.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.76.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.0361 per share. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GGB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Scotiabank upgraded Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.28.

Gerdau 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.