Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 36,620,373 shares, an increase of 54.2% from the July 15th total of 23,746,851 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 14,337,053 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Gerdau Trading Down 4.8%

GGB stock opened at $4.45 on Thursday. Gerdau has a 1-year low of $2.85 and a 1-year high of $5.18. The firm has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $4.58 and its 200-day moving average is $4.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 3.37%. Equities analysts anticipate that Gerdau will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.0448 per share. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Insider Activity at Gerdau

In other Gerdau news, CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da acquired 165,224 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.73 per share, for a total transaction of $781,509.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 165,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $781,509.52. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mauricio Metz sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.85, for a total value of $33,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,299.60. The trade was a 23.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,322 shares of company stock valued at $324,176. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 26,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607 shares during the last quarter. Xponance LLC boosted its position in Gerdau by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 20,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 2,845 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Gerdau by 11.9% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 3,196 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Gerdau by 68.9% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 3,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gerdau by 5.7% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 76,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 4,151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GGB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 target price (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Itau BBA Securities downgraded shares of Gerdau from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.28.

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.