Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 6,869,086 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the previous session's volume of 7,913,231 shares.The stock last traded at $3.83 and had previously closed at $3.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Gerdau Stock Up 4.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $4.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.46.

Gerdau's stock is scheduled to split on Tuesday, April 30th. The 6-5 split was announced on Tuesday, April 30th. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, April 30th.

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

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the first quarter valued at about $59,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 91.0% in the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 119,920 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 57,122 shares during the period. CoreCommodity Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the fourth quarter valued at about $109,000. Finally, Capital International Sarl increased its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 1,223,818 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,936,000 after purchasing an additional 130,750 shares during the period. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.