Rafael Dorneles Japur Sells 10,000 Shares of Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Stock

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) CFO Rafael Dorneles Japur sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.10, for a total value of $51,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 86,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,531.70. The trade was a 10.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Rafael Dorneles Japur also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 22nd, Rafael Dorneles Japur sold 5,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.75, for a total value of $23,750.00.

Gerdau Stock Down 5.5%

Shares of NYSE:GGB opened at $4.68 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Gerdau S.A. has a 52-week low of $2.85 and a 52-week high of $5.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.30. The company has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 1.48.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 7.97%. As a group, analysts forecast that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.0448 per share. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Gerdau’s payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Itau BBA Securities cut shares of Gerdau from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. 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 raised Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gerdau presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.28.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 45.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,034,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,197,000 after buying an additional 943,254 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Gerdau by 282.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,078,917 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,895,000 after acquiring an additional 796,724 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Gerdau by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,327,066 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,897,000 after acquiring an additional 386,594 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 24,211,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $89,341,000 after purchasing an additional 7,982,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd now owns 19,526,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,052,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724,943 shares during the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.