Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Shares Gap Down to $3.80

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.80, but opened at $3.69. Gerdau shares last traded at $3.67, with a volume of 1,605,739 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Gerdau from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $5.00 to $6.00 in a report on Monday, April 15th.

Gerdau Trading Down 3.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.46.

Gerdau shares are scheduled to split on Tuesday, April 30th. The 6-5 split was announced on Tuesday, April 30th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, April 30th.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter. Gerdau had a return on equity of 15.05% and a net margin of 10.80%. Sell-side analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.0202 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GGB. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 175.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the first quarter worth about $44,000. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the third quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, IPG Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gerdau Company Profile

Gerdau SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer company. It operates through Brazil Business, North America Business, South America Business, and Special Steel Business divisions. The company 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.