Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $3.80 and last traded at $3.7950, with a volume of 3247691 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $3.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GGB shares. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.60 price objective (up from $4.00) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Gerdau from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Gerdau has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.60.

Gerdau Stock Up 2.6%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3.58 and a 200-day moving average of $3.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 5.92%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a $0.0521 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the third quarter worth $37,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Gerdau in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau during the third quarter valued at about $71,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in Gerdau by 1,873.7% in the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 315,043 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 299,081 shares in the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.