BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC Sells 695,561 Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC cut its holdings in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 47.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 765,924 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 695,561 shares during the quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC's holdings in Gerdau were worth $2,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GGB. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Gerdau by 164.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 320,404 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,865,244 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,028,000 after buying an additional 40,702 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 208,977 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 16,313 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,741,000. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC bought a new position in Gerdau in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,279,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Gerdau stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.54. 6,140,405 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,338,241. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $2.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.05. Gerdau S.A. has a one year low of $2.27 and a one year high of $4.04.

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

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.0175 dividend. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GGB. UBS Group assumed coverage on Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Monday, April 7th.

About Gerdau

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.