Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Short Interest Up 54.2% in July

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 36,620,373 shares, a growth of 54.2% from the July 15th total of 23,746,851 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 14,337,053 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gerdau

In related news, insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 30,935 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da acquired 165,224 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.73 per share, with a total value of $781,509.52. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 165,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $781,509.52. This represents a ? increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 68,322 shares of company stock valued at $324,176 in the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGB. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Gerdau by 65.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 582,949 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 231,588 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Gerdau by 54.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,363,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,311 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 821.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,344,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,657,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089,675 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Gerdau by 88.8% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 70,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 32,961 shares in the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on GGB shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Gerdau from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.25 price objective (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities lowered Gerdau from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gerdau currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.28.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGB opened at $4.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.87. Gerdau has a 52 week low of $2.85 and a 52 week high of $5.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.32.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued 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. Gerdau had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 7.97%. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. Analysts predict that Gerdau will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business 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 is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

About Gerdau

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.