Mauricio Metz Sells 5,000 Shares of Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Stock

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) EVP Mauricio Metz sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.85, for a total transaction of $24,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 34,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,499.60. This trade represents a 12.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Mauricio Metz also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, May 5th, Mauricio Metz sold 2,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.69, for a total transaction of $9,380.00.
• On Tuesday, April 28th, Mauricio Metz sold 1,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.53, for a total transaction of $4,530.00.
• On Friday, April 10th, Mauricio Metz sold 1,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.24, for a total transaction of $4,240.00.

Gerdau Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Gerdau stock opened at $4.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $4.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.91. Gerdau S.A. has a 1 year low of $2.61 and a 1 year high of $4.98. The stock has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.78 and a beta of 1.51.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 6.76%. Equities research analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.0361 dividend. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Gerdau’s payout ratio is currently 37.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Itau BBA Securities raised Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 target price (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. 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. boosted their price target on shares of Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.12.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Gerdau by 68.9% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,931 shares in the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the third quarter worth about $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 5,216 shares in the last quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other 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.