Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Reduces Position in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 59.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 180,596 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 265,466 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Gerdau were worth $513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 70,116 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Gerdau in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new position in Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,279,000. Carrera Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Gerdau from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $2.90 to $3.80 in a research report on Monday.

Gerdau Price Performance

Gerdau stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $3.01. The company had a trading volume of 12,397,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,821,251. The company has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 1.38. Gerdau S.A. has a 12-month low of $2.27 and a 12-month high of $3.62. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $2.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

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

Gerdau Company 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.