Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Bank of America downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a neutral rating. The stock had previously closed at $4.46, but opened at $4.29. Bank of America now has a $5.10 price target on the stock. Gerdau shares last traded at $4.3250, with a volume of 3,789,417 shares.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 price target (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research report 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gerdau

In related news, insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 30,935 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total value of $138,898.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Marcos Zilles Mattiello sold 10,387 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total value of $53,077.57. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,322 shares of company stock valued at $324,176. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position 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. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Gerdau by 95.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 5,216 shares in the last quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Gerdau during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Gerdau during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the third quarter worth $37,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gerdau Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $4.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.32. The firm has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85 and a beta of 1.48. 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 (NYSE:GGB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 7.97%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.0448 dividend. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This is a positive change from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. Gerdau’s payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

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.