Capital International Investors Decreases Stake in Gerdau S.A. $GGB

Capital International Investors reduced its stake in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,415,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,630,809 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned about 1.37% of Gerdau worth $101,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 3,931 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Gerdau during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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. Greenspring Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Gerdau during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Gerdau stock opened at $4.58 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.76. The stock has a market cap of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60 and a beta of 1.48. Gerdau S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $2.80 and a fifty-two week high of $4.98.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.05). Gerdau had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.0361 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Gerdau’s payout ratio is presently 75.00%.

Insider Transactions at Gerdau

In other news, EVP Mauricio Metz sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.85, for a total value of $33,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,299.60. The trade was a 23.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cesar Obino Da Rosa Peres sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.60, for a total value of $36,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36.80. This represents a 99.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 879,791 shares of company stock worth $3,978,923. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 price target (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Scotiabank upgraded Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gerdau presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.12.

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.