Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) insider Clemir Uhlein sold 38,276 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.51, for a total value of $172,624.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.
Gerdau Trading Up 3.0%
NYSE GGB opened at $4.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.53 and a beta of 1.44. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $3.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.76. Gerdau S.A. has a 52 week low of $2.48 and a 52 week high of $4.66.
Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 6.76%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.0361 dividend. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Gerdau's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.50%.
Key Headlines Impacting Gerdau
Here are the key news stories impacting Gerdau this week:
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GGB shares. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $5.25 price objective (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank upgraded Gerdau from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Gerdau from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4.60 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5.12.
View Our Latest Report on GGB
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Gerdau by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 76,494 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Gerdau by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 857,336 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 34,564 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau during the 1st quarter worth approximately $104,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 3,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company's stock.
Gerdau Company Profile
(
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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.
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