Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Lowered to Neutral Rating by Bank of America

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) was downgraded by Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $5.10 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.71% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.25 price objective (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Itau BBA Securities downgraded shares of Gerdau from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.24.

Gerdau Trading Down 4.8%

Shares of GGB stock opened at $4.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.87. The company has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33 and a beta of 1.48. Gerdau has a 52-week low of $2.85 and a 52-week high of $5.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.32.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Marcos Zilles Mattiello sold 10,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total value of $53,077.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 30,935 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total value of $138,898.15. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 68,322 shares of company stock valued at $324,176 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GGB. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new position in Gerdau during the second quarter valued at approximately $70,663,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the second quarter worth about $16,291,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Gerdau by 11,393.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 13,107,580 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Gerdau by 4.6% in 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. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Gerdau by 57.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 4,842 shares during the period. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.