Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.2833.

GGB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Gerdau from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $5.25 price objective (up from $4.60) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, June 24th.

Gerdau Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:GGB opened at $5.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Gerdau has a 12-month low of $2.85 and a 12-month high of $5.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Cunha Gustavo Werneck Da sold 432,854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total value of $2,107,998.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 432,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,107,998.98. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chia Yuan Wang sold 30,935 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.49, for a total transaction of $138,898.15. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 493,789 shares of company stock worth $2,389,147 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GGB. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Gerdau during the 2nd quarter worth about $16,291,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 11,393.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,222,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,734,000 after purchasing an additional 13,107,580 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,421,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,133,000 after purchasing an additional 62,607 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 57.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 4,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Gerdau by 76.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,936,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,725,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Gerdau Company Profile

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.