Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Insider Sells $90,800.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Insider selling: Chia Yuan Wang sold about 155,700 Gerdau shares in April for roughly $676,433 total, including a 20,000-share sale on Apr 30 for $90,800 that left them holding 72,195 shares.
• Dividend hike: Gerdau raised its quarterly dividend to $0.0361 (annualized $0.14), implying a ~3.2% yield; the ex-dividend date is May 15 and payment is scheduled for June 16.
• Earnings miss: Gerdau reported Q1 EPS of $0.10 vs. $0.15 expected and revenue of $3.22B vs. $3.36B expected, with a 2.4% net margin and 6.76% return on equity.

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 20,000 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.54, for a total transaction of $90,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 72,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $327,765.30. This trade represents a 21.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Chia Yuan Wang also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, April 28th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 76,700 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total transaction of $344,383.00.
• On Friday, April 10th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 25,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.21, for a total transaction of $105,250.00.
• On Wednesday, April 8th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 34,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.00, for a total transaction of $136,000.00.

Gerdau Stock Performance

GGB stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Monday, reaching $4.51. The company had a trading volume of 16,274,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,865,100. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.82. The company has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.16 and a beta of 1.51. 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 twelve month low of $2.48 and a twelve month high of $4.66.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.36 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 6.76%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is a boost from Gerdau's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GGB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Gerdau from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4.60 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Scotiabank upgraded Gerdau from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set 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 issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5.12.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 68.9% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 3,931 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 95.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 5,216 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company's stock.

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.

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