Optiver Holding B.V. Takes Position in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,394,269 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $9,775,000. Optiver Holding B.V. owned about 0.16% of Gerdau at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Gerdau during the 3rd quarter worth about $189,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Gerdau during the third quarter worth about $525,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Gerdau by 28.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 152,685 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 34,069 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 5,903 shares in the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gerdau Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGB traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $2.63. 7,583,062 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,306,751. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.99. Gerdau S.A. has a 1 year low of $2.27 and a 1 year high of $4.04. The company has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.98.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.06. Gerdau had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 7.74%. The business had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. Equities analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GGB. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Gerdau from $3.30 to $2.90 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, April 7th.

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.