Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Buys 823,300 Shares of Gerdau S.A. $GGB

Key Points

• Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has increased its holdings in Gerdau S.A. by 44.4% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 2.68 million shares valued at $7.37 million.
• Gerdau recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.0216 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.8% and an increase from the previous dividend of $0.02.
• Shares of Gerdau are currently trading at $3.06 with an average price target from analysts set at $3.80, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 44.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,678,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 823,300 shares during the quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.13% of Gerdau worth $7,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GGB. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Gerdau by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 53,736 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 4,657 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Gerdau in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth about $434,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Gerdau by 105.7% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 45,911 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 23,594 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, UBS Group upgraded Gerdau from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $2.90 to $3.80 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gerdau has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $3.80.

Gerdau Price Performance

Gerdau stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.05. 6,100,309 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,460,424. The stock's fifty day moving average is $2.98 and its 200-day moving average is $2.86. Gerdau S.A. has a 12 month low of $2.27 and a 12 month high of $3.62. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.50, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). Gerdau had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 6.51%. The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.0216 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. This is a boost from Gerdau's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.59%.

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.