Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Shares Bought by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 62.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,806,871 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 695,005 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.09% of Gerdau worth $5,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Gerdau during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Gerdau in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Zhang Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Carrera Capital Advisors bought a new stake in Gerdau during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gerdau Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of GGB stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $2.76. 6,781,703 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,333,868. Gerdau S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $2.27 and a fifty-two week high of $3.66. The stock's 50 day moving average is $2.70 and its 200-day moving average is $2.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 1.43.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.88 billion for 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%. Analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.0188 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Gerdau's previous dividend of $0.00. This represents a yield of 2.95%. Gerdau's payout ratio is currently 24.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GGB. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Gerdau from $3.30 to $2.90 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Gerdau 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.