Bank of America Corp DE Buys 5,718,323 Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 130.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,095,722 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 5,718,323 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.49% of Gerdau worth $29,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGB traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $2.73. The company had a trading volume of 8,599,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,364,434. The company's 50-day moving average price is $2.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.95. Gerdau S.A. has a one year low of $2.27 and a one year high of $3.78. The firm has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. Gerdau had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 7.03%. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on GGB shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Gerdau from $3.30 to $2.90 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Monday, April 7th.

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.