Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda Makes New $451,000 Investment in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Key Points

• Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda has acquired a new stake in Gerdau S.A. by purchasing 158,682 shares, valued at approximately $451,000.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in Gerdau, with Jane Street Group LLC adding 221.1% to their position in the fourth quarter.
• Gerdau recently announced a dividend payment of $0.0188 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend amount of $0.00, with a yield of 2.95%.

Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 158,682 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $451,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of Gerdau by 221.1% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,236,271 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,560,000 after buying an additional 851,203 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gerdau by 80.4% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 85,205 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 37,969 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Gerdau by 789.5% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 455,053 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 403,894 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 918,238 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 236,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Gerdau by 164.3% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 515,417 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 320,404 shares during the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gerdau Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE GGB traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, reaching $2.98. The stock had a trading volume of 4,270,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,788,462. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $2.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Gerdau S.A. has a 12-month low of $2.27 and a 12-month high of $3.62.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.0188 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is an increase from Gerdau's previous dividend of $0.00. Gerdau's payout ratio is presently 27.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GGB. UBS Group upgraded Gerdau from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $2.90 to $3.80 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, April 7th.

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.