Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) was the target of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 980,307 shares, a drop of 36.5% from the February 26th total of 1,543,679 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,726,343 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Gerdau Price Performance

Gerdau stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3.42. 16,216,274 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,242,592. Gerdau has a 12-month low of $2.27 and a 12-month high of $4.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.66. The company has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.46.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.04). Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 1.93%.The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Gerdau will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.0194 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. Gerdau’s payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Guilherme Chagas G. Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total value of $281,647.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 314.9% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 262,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 199,115 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Gerdau by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,046,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $96,243,000 after buying an additional 581,958 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,958,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in Gerdau in the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,440,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth about $981,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.60 price target (up from $4.00) on shares of Gerdau in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4.60.

About Gerdau

Gerdau SA is a Brazilian-based steel producer engaged in the manufacture and distribution of long steel products for the construction, industrial and agricultural sectors. Established in 1901, the company operates an integrated network of electric-arc furnaces and rolling mills, producing reinforcement bars, wire rod, merchant bars and structural shapes. Gerdau’s product portfolio also includes specialty long steel, high-yield reinforcement, rail, beams and steel coils, as well as value-added processing services such as cutting, bending and coating.

The company has expanded its footprint beyond Brazil, with significant operations in North America, South America and a presence in select European markets.