Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $1.27 Million Stock Position in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 34.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 441,796 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 229,791 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Gerdau were worth $1,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGB. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Zhang Financial LLC acquired a new position in Gerdau in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Gerdau in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Gerdau during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GGB shares. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group started coverage on Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company.

Gerdau Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GGB traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,500,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,253,270. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.02. Gerdau S.A. has a twelve month low of $2.27 and a twelve month high of $4.04. The firm has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.0175 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Gerdau's payout ratio is 13.95%.

About Gerdau

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.