Bank of America Corp DE Grows Stock Holdings in Gerdau S.A. $GGB

Key Points

• Bank of America sharply increased its Gerdau stake by 11,393.6% in the first quarter, reaching 13.2 million shares valued at approximately $47.7 million, or 0.66% of the company.
• Gerdau reported quarterly earnings of $0.15 per share, matching estimates, while revenue of $3.45 billion exceeded the $3.41 billion consensus forecast. Analysts expect full-year earnings of $0.53 per share.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.0448 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 3.7%. Wall Street maintains a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $5.28.

Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 11,393.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,222,623 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,107,580 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.66% of Gerdau worth $47,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GGB. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Gerdau by 68.9% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,931 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Gerdau by 95.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 5,216 shares during the period. Greenspring Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gerdau in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Gerdau Stock Performance

NYSE:GGB opened at $4.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.87. Gerdau S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $2.85 and a fifty-two week high of $5.18. The firm has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 1.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.31.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 7.97%. Equities research analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.0448 per share. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a positive change 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 currently 52.17%.

Insider Activity at Gerdau

In other Gerdau news, CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da purchased 165,224 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.73 per share, for a total transaction of $781,509.52. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 165,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $781,509.52. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cesar Obino Da Rosa Peres sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.60, for a total value of $36,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36.80. The trade was a 99.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 65,935 shares of company stock valued at $307,898 in the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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