Insider Selling: Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) CFO Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) CFO Rafael Dorneles Japur sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.75, for a total transaction of $23,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 96,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,593.25. This trade represents a 4.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Gerdau Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE GGB traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $4.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,594,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,613,553. Gerdau S.A. has a 12 month low of $2.61 and a 12 month high of $4.98. The stock has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.38 and a beta of 1.51. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.96.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released 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 return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 2.40%.The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.0361 dividend. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.00%.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Gerdau by 68.9% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 3,931 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 95.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 5,216 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Gerdau during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Gerdau in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Gerdau in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on GGB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Scotiabank raised Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.25 price target (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.12.

About Gerdau

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.