Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Stock Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $5.57.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GGB shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of Gerdau from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.10 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $6.10 price target (up from $5.70) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Thursday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Gerdau to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, HSBC lowered Gerdau from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gerdau

In other news, EVP Rafael Lopes sold 51,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.09, for a total transaction of $263,662.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $424,500.91. The trade was a 38.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rafael Japur sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.10, for a total transaction of $51,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 86,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,531.70. This trade represents a 10.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,407 shares of company stock worth $737,561. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Greenspring Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Gerdau during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the first quarter worth $43,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the first quarter worth $45,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the first quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 57.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 4,842 shares during the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGB opened at $4.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $4.83 and a 200 day moving average of $4.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07 and a beta of 1.49. Gerdau has a 52 week low of $3.06 and a 52 week high of $5.18.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion for 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gerdau will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.0448 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0361. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.22%.

Gerdau Company Profile

Gerdau SA is a Brazil-based steel producer whose American depositary shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GGB. The company manufactures and sells steel products for construction, industrial, agricultural, automotive and other end markets.

Its product portfolio includes long steel products such as rebar, wire rod, structural sections and merchant bars, as well as specialty steel and selected flat steel products. Gerdau also operates steel mills and scrap-processing facilities, using recycled ferrous scrap as an important raw material, and has activities connected with iron ore and other steelmaking inputs.

Founded in 1901, Gerdau has expanded from its Brazilian origins into one of the major steel producers in the Americas.