Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Gerdau shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, trading as high as $4.19 and last at $4.1850 on heavy volume (~27.99M shares).
• Several analysts upgraded the stock, leaving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a $4.60 average price target after multiple firms raised ratings and price objectives to $4.60.
• The company missed quarterly EPS ($0.07 vs. $0.11 expected), carries a P/E of ~34.9, and pays a small annualized dividend of $0.08 (yield ≈1.9%).

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $3.69 and traded as high as $4.19. Gerdau shares last traded at $4.1850, with a volume of 27,991,740 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on GGB shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Scotiabank raised shares of Gerdau from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Gerdau from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4.60 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Gerdau from $4.40 to $4.60 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $4.60.

Gerdau Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.44. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $3.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.69.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 6.20%. On average, analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a $0.0194 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Gerdau's payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insider Transactions at Gerdau

In other Gerdau news, Chairman Guilherme Chagas G. Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total value of $281,647.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGB. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Gerdau by 65.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 582,949 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 231,588 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Gerdau by 54.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,363,764 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,541,311 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Gerdau by 821.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,344,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,657,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089,675 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 88.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 70,079 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 32,961 shares during the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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