Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Trading Up 3% – What’s Next?

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)’s stock price traded up 3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $2.92 and last traded at $2.93. 1,091,314 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 9,175,225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Gerdau Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $2.94 and its 200-day moving average is $3.13.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 7.03%. On average, analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.0175 per share. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Gerdau in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Zhang Financial LLC bought a new position in Gerdau during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Gerdau during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

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.