Marshall Wace LLP Acquires 810,621 Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,700,747 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 810,621 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.27% of Gerdau worth $16,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GGB. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Gerdau during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Zhang Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Gerdau in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gerdau Trading Up 0.8 %

GGB stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $2.67. The company had a trading volume of 6,721,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,245,401. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.53. Gerdau S.A. has a 52 week low of $2.27 and a 52 week high of $4.04. The company has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $2.77 and a 200 day moving average of $3.02.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.66 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 7.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.0175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Gerdau's payout ratio is presently 13.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Monday, April 7th.

Gerdau 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.