Insider Selling: Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Insider Sells 30,935 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider selling continued at Gerdau: Insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 30,935 shares on June 2 at an average price of $4.49, bringing in about $138,898. He has also sold multiple other blocks of Gerdau shares in recent weeks.
• Gerdau reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results: The steel producer posted EPS of $0.10 versus the $0.15 consensus and revenue of $3.22 billion versus the $3.36 billion expected.
• The company raised its dividend and analysts remain moderately bullish: Gerdau increased its quarterly dividend to $0.0361 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $5.12.

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 30,935 shares of Gerdau stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total transaction of $138,898.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Chia Yuan Wang also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, May 5th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 40,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.75, for a total transaction of $190,000.00.
• On Thursday, April 30th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 20,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.54, for a total transaction of $90,800.00.
• On Tuesday, April 28th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 76,700 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total value of $344,383.00.
• On Friday, April 10th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 25,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.21, for a total transaction of $105,250.00.
• On Wednesday, April 8th, Chia Yuan Wang sold 34,000 shares of Gerdau stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.00, for a total transaction of $136,000.00.

Gerdau Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGB traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.76. The company had a trading volume of 26,473,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,782,209. Gerdau S.A. has a twelve month low of $2.80 and a twelve month high of $4.98. The stock has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72 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. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $4.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.00.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.36 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 6.76%. On average, research analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.0361 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Gerdau's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GGB. BSW Wealth Partners raised its position in Gerdau by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 53,697 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Gerdau by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 26,397 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607 shares during the last quarter. Xponance LLC increased its stake in Gerdau by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 20,570 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,845 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 11.9% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 3,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 22.3% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,725 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 3,230 shares during the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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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