UBS Group AG Raises Position in Gerdau S.A. $GGB

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Gerdau by 45.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 943,254 additional shares and bringing its holding to 3.03 million shares valued at about $11.2 million.
• Several analysts turned more positive on the steel producer, with upgrades from Itaú BBA Securities and Scotiabank, while UBS reiterated a buy rating and raised its price target to $5.25. The consensus view is now Moderate Buy with an average target of $5.12.
• Gerdau recently reported weaker-than-expected earnings of $0.10 per share on revenue of $3.22 billion, but it also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.0361 per share, implying a 3.1% yield.

UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 45.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,034,398 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 943,254 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.15% of Gerdau worth $11,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 1.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,046,243 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $96,243,000 after buying an additional 581,958 shares during the period. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd now owns 19,526,171 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $72,052,000 after buying an additional 1,724,943 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 22.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,894,871 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,274,000 after buying an additional 2,910,482 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 169.2% in the third quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 7,189,270 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $22,287,000 after buying an additional 4,519,092 shares during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 47.6% in the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 5,435,331 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $16,850,000 after buying an additional 1,752,282 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Gerdau news, CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da sold 432,854 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total transaction of $2,107,998.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 432,854 shares in the company, valued at $2,107,998.98. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Clemir Uhlein sold 38,276 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.51, for a total value of $172,624.76. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 823,856 shares of company stock valued at $3,722,025 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Itau BBA Securities raised Gerdau from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4.60 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Scotiabank upgraded Gerdau from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $5.25 price target (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gerdau currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5.12.

Gerdau Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:GGB opened at $4.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.76. Gerdau S.A. has a one year low of $2.61 and a one year high of $4.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $4.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.91. The stock has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78 and a beta of 1.51.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.05). Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 2.40%.The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.0361 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is an increase from Gerdau's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Gerdau's payout ratio is currently 37.50%.

About Gerdau

Gerdau SA is a Brazilian-based steel producer engaged in the manufacture and distribution of long steel products for the construction, industrial and agricultural sectors. Established in 1901, the company operates an integrated network of electric-arc furnaces and rolling mills, producing reinforcement bars, wire rod, merchant bars and structural shapes. Gerdau's product portfolio also includes specialty long steel, high-yield reinforcement, rail, beams and steel coils, as well as value-added processing services such as cutting, bending and coating.

The company has expanded its footprint beyond Brazil, with significant operations in North America, South America and a presence in select European markets.

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.