Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New Investment in Gerdau S.A. $GGB

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management acquired 4.03 million Gerdau shares worth approximately $16.3 million in the second quarter, while other institutional investors—including Bank of America and Renaissance Technologies—also increased their positions.
• Gerdau reported quarterly earnings of $0.15 per share on $3.45 billion in revenue, matching earnings expectations and exceeding revenue estimates. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.0448, implying a 3.6% annualized yield.
• Gerdau shares opened at $4.97, near their 52-week high, and analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $5.28, although insiders have sold 70,935 shares over the past 90 days.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,032,490 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $16,291,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.20% of Gerdau at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Gerdau by 11,393.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,222,623 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $47,734,000 after purchasing an additional 13,107,580 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Gerdau by 4.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,421,830 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,133,000 after buying an additional 62,607 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gerdau by 57.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,243 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 4,842 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Gerdau by 76.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,936,524 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,481,000 after buying an additional 4,725,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Gerdau during the first quarter worth $272,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 30,935 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total value of $138,898.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cesar Obino Da Rosa Peres sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.60, for a total value of $36,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36.80. This trade represents a 99.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 70,935 shares of company stock valued at $332,148. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Gerdau Price Performance

GGB stock opened at $4.97 on Tuesday. Gerdau S.A. has a 1 year low of $2.85 and a 1 year high of $5.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.30.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15. Gerdau had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.0448 dividend. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Gerdau's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Gerdau's payout ratio is 52.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GGB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $5.25 target price (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Itau BBA Securities downgraded shares of Gerdau from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Gerdau from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5.28.

Gerdau Company 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.

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