Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Stock Price Down 4.4%

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) stock price decreased by 4.4% on Tuesday, with shares trading as low as $3.25. Analysts have recently upgraded the company's rating and price target. Gerdau is a steel producer company with various business segments and has reported positive earnings results. The company also recently increased its dividend.

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) shares were down 4.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $3.25 and last traded at $3.26. Approximately 2,464,895 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 8,061,783 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Gerdau from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $4.50 to $5.00 in a research note on Friday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Gerdau from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $4.17 to $5.00 in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Gerdau

Gerdau Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.51. The stock has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.76.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. Gerdau had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a $0.055 dividend. This is a positive change from Gerdau's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gerdau by 175.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 5,138 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Gerdau in the first quarter worth about $44,000. IPG Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau during the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Gerdau Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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