Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Brokerages have given Gerdau an average rating of "Moderate Buy" across six analysts, with a 12‑month average target price of $4.90 and recent upgrades including JPMorgan raising its target to $5.50.
• Company insiders sold 208,026 shares in the last three months (about $778,058), leaving insiders with just 0.02% ownership, indicating notable insider selling activity.
• Gerdau missed quarterly EPS estimates ($0.07 vs. $0.11), its stock trades near $4.31 with a market cap of $8.6B, and it pays a quarterly dividend that annualizes to $0.08 (≈1.8% yield) with a 50% payout ratio.

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $4.90.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Gerdau from $4.40 to $4.60 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Scotiabank raised shares of Gerdau from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Gerdau from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4.60 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Guilherme Chagas G. Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.00, for a total transaction of $136,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 193,895 shares in the company, valued at $775,580. This trade represents a 14.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 208,026 shares of company stock valued at $778,058. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

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

Gerdau Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of GGB stock opened at $4.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.88 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Gerdau has a fifty-two week low of $2.48 and a fifty-two week high of $4.66. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $3.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.78.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.04). Gerdau had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Gerdau will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.0194 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. Gerdau's payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

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.