Short Interest in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Drops By 36.7%

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,860,000 shares, a drop of 36.7% from the April 30th total of 13,990,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 11,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on GGB. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Gerdau from $3.30 to $2.90 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the first quarter valued at about $737,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 821.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,344,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,657,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089,675 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 54.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,363,764 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,311 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the first quarter valued at about $30,134,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 65.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 582,949 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 231,588 shares in the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gerdau Trading Up 5.5%

Gerdau stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $2.78. 7,277,265 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,513,792. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.43. Gerdau has a fifty-two week low of $2.27 and a fifty-two week high of $3.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $2.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.91.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a $0.0188 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is a positive change from Gerdau's previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Gerdau's payout ratio is 24.14%.

Gerdau Company 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.