Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd Grows Holdings in Gerdau S.A. $GGB

Key Points

• Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd boosted its stake in Gerdau S.A. by 9.7% in Q4, adding 1,724,943 shares to hold 19,526,171 shares (about 0.98% of the company) valued at $72,052,000 and making Gerdau its fourth-largest holding (~5.9% of the fund).
• Gerdau missed Q4 estimates with EPS of $0.07 versus a $0.11 consensus and revenue of $3.08B versus $3.12B, recently cut its quarterly dividend to $0.0194 (annualized $0.08, yield 1.8%), and has drawn several analyst upgrades resulting in an average "Moderate Buy" rating and a $4.90 price target.

Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,526,171 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 1,724,943 shares during the period. Gerdau makes up approximately 5.9% of Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd owned approximately 0.98% of Gerdau worth $72,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BSW Wealth Partners increased its position in Gerdau by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 53,697 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,327,066 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,897,000 after purchasing an additional 386,594 shares during the period. Tuttle Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Gerdau during the 4th quarter valued at about $118,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gerdau Price Performance

Shares of GGB opened at $4.31 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $3.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.77. Gerdau S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $2.48 and a fifty-two week high of $4.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a PE ratio of 35.88 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.89.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.12 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 6.20%. Equities analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.0194 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio is 50.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GGB shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Friday, March 27th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Gerdau from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4.60 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Scotiabank raised Gerdau from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Gerdau from $4.40 to $4.60 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gerdau currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $4.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Guilherme Chagas G. Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total transaction of $281,647.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marcos Eduardo Fara Wahrhaftig sold 12,419 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.06, for a total transaction of $50,421.14. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,026 shares of company stock valued at $778,058. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Gerdau Profile

Gerdau SA is a Brazilian-based steel producer engaged in the manufacture and distribution of long steel products for the construction, industrial and agricultural sectors. Established in 1901, the company operates an integrated network of electric-arc furnaces and rolling mills, producing reinforcement bars, wire rod, merchant bars and structural shapes. Gerdau's product portfolio also includes specialty long steel, high-yield reinforcement, rail, beams and steel coils, as well as value-added processing services such as cutting, bending and coating.

The company has expanded its footprint beyond Brazil, with significant operations in North America, South America and a presence in select European markets.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GGB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.