Appian Way Asset Management LP Invests $393,000 in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Appian Way Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 136,391 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $393,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Gerdau by 164.3% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 515,417 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 320,404 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Gerdau by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 208,977 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 16,313 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,279,000. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Gerdau in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Gerdau by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,355,896 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,665,000 after acquiring an additional 188,877 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Gerdau Price Performance

Shares of GGB stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $2.57. The company had a trading volume of 4,850,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,191,883. The company has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 1.43. Gerdau S.A. has a 52-week low of $2.27 and a 52-week high of $4.04. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $2.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 7.74%. Equities research analysts forecast that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.0188 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Gerdau's previous dividend of $0.00. This represents a yield of 2.95%. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on GGB. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Gerdau from $3.30 to $2.90 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Gerdau Company Profile

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.