Ninety One North America Inc. Buys 8,211,800 Shares of Gerdau S.A. $GGB

Key Points

• Ninety One North America purchased 8.21 million Gerdau shares worth approximately $38.8 million, giving it a 0.42% stake and making Gerdau its 16th-largest portfolio holding.
• Gerdau reported quarterly earnings of $0.15 per share, in line with analyst estimates, while revenue of $3.45 billion exceeded expectations. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.0448, implying a 3.5% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but mixed, with Gerdau carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $5.57 average price target; shares recently traded at $5.08, near their 52-week high.

Ninety One North America Inc. bought a new stake in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,211,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $38,760,000. Gerdau makes up approximately 2.0% of Ninety One North America Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Ninety One North America Inc. owned approximately 0.42% of Gerdau as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gerdau during the 2nd quarter valued at $70,663,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 11,393.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,222,623 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,734,000 after purchasing an additional 13,107,580 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 76.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,936,524 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,725,200 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Gerdau in the second quarter worth $16,291,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 124.7% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 7,010,275 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,322,000 after purchasing an additional 3,890,093 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGB traded down $0.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $5.08. The stock had a trading volume of 7,035,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,009,957. Gerdau S.A. has a 52 week low of $3.14 and a 52 week high of $5.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.60.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.41 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 7.97%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a $0.0448 dividend. This is a positive change from Gerdau's previous quarterly dividend of $0.0361. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Gerdau from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Itau BBA Securities cut Gerdau from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $6.10 price target (up from $5.70) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Gerdau from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Gerdau from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gerdau presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Claudio Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.94, for a total transaction of $422,898.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Rafael Lopes sold 51,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.09, for a total transaction of $263,662.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,399 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $424,500.91. The trade was a 38.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 147,407 shares of company stock valued at $737,561. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Gerdau

Gerdau SA is a Brazilian steel producer and one of the major suppliers of long steel in the Americas. The company manufactures products including rebar, wire rod, structural shapes, merchant bars and other steel products used in construction, infrastructure, industrial manufacturing and agricultural equipment.

Gerdau also produces special steel for the automotive, machinery and other industrial sectors, as well as flat steel products through its operations in Brazil. Its business includes steel recycling, with a significant portion of its production based on ferrous scrap, and the company operates a network of steel mills, fabrication facilities and distribution centers.

Founded in Brazil in 1901, Gerdau serves customers across Brazil, North America and South America.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GGB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.