Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Rating Lowered to Hold at Scotiabank

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) was downgraded by Scotiabank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on GGB. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Gerdau to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. HSBC lowered Gerdau from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Gerdau from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Gerdau from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.10 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.65.

Gerdau Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE GGB traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $4.38. 14,994,277 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,172,724. The stock has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Gerdau has a one year low of $3.14 and a one year high of $5.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.47.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). Gerdau had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Gerdau will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Claudio Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.94, for a total value of $422,898.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rafael Lopes sold 51,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.09, for a total transaction of $263,662.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $424,500.91. This trade represents a 38.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GGB. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau during the third quarter valued at about $145,390,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 2nd quarter worth about $70,663,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Gerdau by 11,393.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,222,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,734,000 after acquiring an additional 13,107,580 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 4,725,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One North America Inc. bought a new position in Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,760,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gerdau Company Profile

Gerdau SA is a Brazil-based steel producer with operations across the Americas. The company manufactures and sells steel products for the construction, industrial, automotive, agricultural and infrastructure markets.

Its product portfolio includes long steel products such as rebar, wire rod, merchant bars and structural shapes, as well as special steel used in automotive and industrial applications. Gerdau also produces flat steel and semi-finished products, including billets and slabs, and operates steel mills, scrap-processing facilities and related distribution networks.

Founded in 1901, Gerdau has grown from a regional Brazilian steelmaker into an international producer serving customers in Brazil, North America and other parts of Latin America.