Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Gerdau S.A. increased significantly by 134.1% in August, totaling 21,230,000 shares by August 31st.
• UBS Group upgraded Gerdau's rating from "neutral" to "buy" with a price target raised from $2.90 to $3.80.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.0216, resulting in an annual yield of 2.8%.

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 21,230,000 shares, an increase of 134.1% from the August 15th total of 9,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company's stock are short sold. Currently, 1.7% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,931 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Gerdau during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Gerdau by 95.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 5,216 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the first quarter worth $40,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, UBS Group upgraded Gerdau from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $2.90 to $3.80 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $3.80.

Gerdau Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of GGB traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.05. The stock had a trading volume of 12,334,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,705,126. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Gerdau has a 52 week low of $2.27 and a 52 week high of $3.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3.01 and a 200 day moving average of $2.87. The company has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.38.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 6.51%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gerdau will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a $0.0216 dividend. This is an increase from Gerdau's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.59%.

Gerdau Company Profile

Gerdau SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer company. The company operates through Brazil Business, North America Business, South America Business, and Special Steel Business segments. It also provides semi-finished products, including billets, blooms, and slabs; common long rolled products, such as rebars, wire rods, merchant bars, light shapes, and profiles to the construction and manufacturing industries; drawn products comprising barbed and barbless fence wires, galvanized wires, fences, concrete reinforcing wire mesh, nails, and clamps for manufacturing, construction, and agricultural industries; and special steel products used in auto parts, light and heavy vehicles, and agricultural machinery, as well as in the oil and gas, wind energy, machinery and equipment, mining and rail, and other markets.

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