Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Price Target Raised to $6.40

by · The Cerbat Gem

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB – Free Report) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $6.10 to $6.40 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

GGB has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America cut Gerdau from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.10 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Gerdau to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Gerdau from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gerdau from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities upgraded Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gerdau has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.65.

View Our Latest Stock Report on GGB

Gerdau Stock Performance

Gerdau stock opened at $4.65 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.46. Gerdau has a twelve month low of $3.14 and a twelve month high of $5.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 1.48.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB – Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 8.90%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Gerdau will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.0637 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0448. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.57%.

Insider Activity at Gerdau

In other Gerdau news, CFO Rafael Japur sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.10, for a total value of $51,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 86,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $443,531.70. This trade represents a 10.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Claudio Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.94, for a total value of $422,898.58. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 147,407 shares of company stock worth $737,561. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the third quarter worth $94,000. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 78.6% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 32,865 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 14,465 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 17.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 17,348 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 51.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 310,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 105,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 10.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,452,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,015,000 after purchasing an additional 419,918 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

About Gerdau

(Get Free Report)

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.

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