BNP Paribas Financial Markets Raises Position in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 30.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 553,287 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 128,176 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Gerdau were worth $1,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGB. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Gerdau during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Zhang Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Carrera Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on GGB. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Gerdau from $3.30 to $2.90 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Monday, April 7th.

Gerdau Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:GGB traded down $0.03 on Wednesday, hitting $2.73. The stock had a trading volume of 8,599,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,342,259. Gerdau S.A. has a 1 year low of $2.27 and a 1 year high of $3.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.43. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $2.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.66 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 7.03%. Analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

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

About Gerdau

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.