Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Shares Gap Down to $3.80

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.80, but opened at $3.69. Gerdau shares last traded at $3.67, with a volume of 1,605,739 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Gerdau from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $5.00 to $6.00 in a report on Monday, April 15th.

Gerdau Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company's fifty day moving average is $4.30 and its 200 day moving average is $4.46. The firm has a market cap of $7.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 1.73.

Gerdau shares are set to split on Tuesday, April 30th. The 6-5 split was announced on Tuesday, April 30th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, April 30th.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter. Gerdau had a return on equity of 15.05% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.0202 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio is 10.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in Gerdau by 9.4% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 33,884 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its stake in Gerdau by 6.6% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 59,275 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 3,661 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 22.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 22,794 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 4,105 shares during the last quarter. Moneda USA Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Moneda USA Inc. now owns 662,563 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,160,000 after purchasing an additional 4,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 186,227 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 4,484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Gerdau Company Profile

Gerdau SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer company. It operates through Brazil Business, North America Business, South America Business, and Special Steel Business divisions. The company 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.