Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Gerdau from “strong buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $5.65.
• Gerdau shares opened at $4.65, with a market capitalization of $9.13 billion; its latest quarterly results missed expectations, reporting $0.15 in EPS versus the $0.18 consensus and revenue of $3.61 billion versus $3.64 billion expected.
• Company insiders sold 147,407 shares worth approximately $737,561 over the past three months, while several institutional investors—including Donald Smith & Co. and Bank of America—expanded their holdings.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Gerdau from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Gerdau from $6.10 to $6.40 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. HSBC downgraded Gerdau from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Bank of America lowered Gerdau from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $5.10 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Gerdau from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gerdau presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5.65.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Gerdau stock opened at $4.65 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $4.90 and a 200-day moving average of $4.46. The company has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 1.48. Gerdau has a 1 year low of $3.14 and a 1 year high of $5.48. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). Gerdau had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gerdau will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gerdau

In other Gerdau news, Chairman Claudio Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.94, for a total value of $422,898.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rafael Lopes sold 51,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.09, for a total value of $263,662.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,399 shares in the company, valued at $424,500.91. The trade was a 38.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 147,407 shares of company stock valued at $737,561. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 124.7% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 7,010,275 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,322,000 after purchasing an additional 3,890,093 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,109,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Gerdau by 282.3% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,078,917 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,895,000 after buying an additional 796,724 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Gerdau by 11,393.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,222,623 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,734,000 after buying an additional 13,107,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in Gerdau in the 2nd quarter valued at about $70,663,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Gerdau Company Profile

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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