Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $4.11 and traded as high as $4.28. Gerdau shares last traded at $4.2550, with a volume of 15,769,496 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Scotiabank raised shares of Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gerdau currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.12.

Gerdau Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.11.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.05). Gerdau had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. As a group, sell-side 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 was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.0361 dividend. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Gerdau’s payout ratio is presently 75.00%.

Insider Activity at Gerdau

In other news, insider Cesar Obino Da Rosa Peres sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.60, for a total transaction of $36,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36.80. This represents a 99.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mauricio Metz sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,536 shares in the company, valued at $109,299.60. The trade was a 23.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 794,184 shares of company stock worth $3,697,276 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 11,393.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,222,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,734,000 after buying an additional 13,107,580 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,421,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,133,000 after buying an additional 62,607 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gerdau by 57.6% in the 1st 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Gerdau by 76.1% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,936,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,481,000 after buying an additional 4,725,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Gerdau in the 1st quarter worth $272,000. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

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.