Insider Buying: Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) CEO Purchases 165,224 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Gerdau CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da bought 165,224 shares on June 12 at an average price of $4.73, a transaction worth about $781,510. The purchase increased his direct ownership to 165,224 shares.
• The CEO had recently sold shares as well, including 432,854 shares in May and 50,000 shares in April, showing mixed insider activity over the past few months.
• Gerdau recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.0361 per share from $0.02, and analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $5.12.

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da acquired 165,224 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.73 per share, with a total value of $781,509.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 165,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $781,509.52. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 8th, Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da sold 432,854 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total transaction of $2,107,998.98.
• On Wednesday, April 8th, Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da sold 50,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total transaction of $200,500.00.

Gerdau Price Performance

NYSE:GGB traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $4.65. The stock had a trading volume of 13,294,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,585,281. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Gerdau S.A. has a 12 month low of $2.80 and a 12 month high of $4.98.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.05). Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 2.40%.The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.0361 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Gerdau's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Gerdau from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4.60 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Scotiabank raised shares of Gerdau from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Gerdau from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $5.25 target price (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Gerdau presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5.12.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Gerdau by 68.9% in the 2nd 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. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 95.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 5,216 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company's stock.

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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