Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Shares Bought by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 34.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 918,238 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 236,951 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp's holdings in Gerdau were worth $2,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 320,404 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Gerdau by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 208,977 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 16,313 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,279,000. Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth approximately $434,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on GGB shares. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Gerdau from $3.30 to $2.90 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of Gerdau stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $2.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,195,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,476,322. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $2.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.92. The firm has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 1.43. Gerdau S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $2.27 and a fifty-two week high of $3.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a $0.0188 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is a boost from Gerdau's previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Gerdau's payout ratio 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.