Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $3.63 and last traded at $3.5910, with a volume of 4497324 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.80.

Gerdau Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.23 and a 200 day moving average of $3.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.89.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 6.51%. Equities analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.0521 per share. This represents a $0.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is 70.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Gerdau by 68.9% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,931 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Gerdau in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gerdau in the third quarter valued at $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 95.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 5,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gerdau in the first quarter valued at $40,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.