Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Short Interest Down 8.1% in August

by · The Markets Daily

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,690,000 shares, a decrease of 8.1% from the August 15th total of 6,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Bank of America upgraded Gerdau from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $4.50 to $5.00 in a research note on Friday, May 24th.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on GGB

Gerdau Stock Performance

GGB opened at $3.39 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.40. Gerdau has a 52-week low of $2.92 and a 52-week high of $4.31.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 8.43%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gerdau will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a $0.055 dividend. This represents a $0.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.50%. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the first quarter worth $44,000. Insight 2811 Inc. acquired a new stake in Gerdau during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. IPG Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Gerdau

(Get Free Report)

Gerdau SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer company. The company operates through Brazil Business, North America Business, South America Business, and Special Steel Business segments. It also provides semi-finished products, including billets, blooms, and slabs; common long rolled products, such as rebars, wire rods, merchant bars, light shapes, and profiles to the construction and manufacturing industries; drawn products comprising barbed and barbless fence wires, galvanized wires, fences, concrete reinforcing wire mesh, nails, and clamps for manufacturing, construction, and agricultural industries; and special steel products used in auto parts, light and heavy vehicles, and agricultural machinery, as well as in the oil and gas, wind energy, machinery and equipment, mining and rail, and other markets.

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