Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy” for Gerdau, with three buy ratings, one strong-buy rating and two holds. The average 12-month price target is $5.28, while UBS and JPMorgan recently raised their targets to $5.25 and $6.00, respectively.
• Gerdau shares rose 2.1% to open at $5.07, matching the stock’s 12-month high and giving the company a market capitalization of about $10.13 billion.
• Insiders sold shares worth roughly $2.39 million during the last quarter, while institutional investors increased their positions; hedge funds and institutions collectively own 1.49% of the company.

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $5.2833.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GGB shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $5.25 price objective (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th.

Gerdau Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of Gerdau stock opened at $5.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.66 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Gerdau has a 12-month low of $2.85 and a 12-month high of $5.07. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $4.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da sold 432,854 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 432,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,107,998.98. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mauricio Metz sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.85, for a total value of $33,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,536 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $109,299.60. This represents a 23.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 493,789 shares of company stock worth $2,389,147. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGB. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Gerdau by 11,393.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,222,623 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,734,000 after buying an additional 13,107,580 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in Gerdau by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 24,211,588 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $89,341,000 after acquiring an additional 7,982,296 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Gerdau by 76.1% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,936,524 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,481,000 after acquiring an additional 4,725,200 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Gerdau in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $16,291,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Gerdau in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,618,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gerdau Company Profile

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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