Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 81.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 277,784 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 125,099 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s holdings in Gerdau were worth $800,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GGB. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $189,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the third quarter valued at $525,000. Zhang Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Gerdau by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,076 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 5,903 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 208,977 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 16,313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Gerdau Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGB traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $2.63. 7,583,062 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,197,733. Gerdau S.A. has a twelve month low of $2.27 and a twelve month high of $4.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.99. The stock has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.0175 dividend. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Gerdau's payout ratio is currently 20.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on GGB shares. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Gerdau from $3.30 to $2.90 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday.

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.