Analysts Set Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) PT at $5.28

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.2833.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $5.25 price objective (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Mauricio Metz sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.85, for a total transaction of $33,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,299.60. This trade represents a 23.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Clemir Uhlein sold 38,276 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.51, for a total value of $172,624.76. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 671,765 shares of company stock valued at $3,200,865. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Gerdau by 68.9% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 3,931 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 95.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 5,216 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Gerdau in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Greenspring Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gerdau Stock Up 3.0%

GGB stock opened at $4.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.91 and a beta of 1.50. Gerdau has a 1-year low of $2.83 and a 1-year high of $4.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $4.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.17. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. Research analysts predict that Gerdau will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.0361 dividend. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Gerdau’s payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

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.