Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Upgraded by Bank of America to “Buy”

Bank of America upgraded shares of Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $5.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $4.50.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Gerdau from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the company from $4.17 to $5.00 in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

Gerdau Price Performance

Shares of GGB traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3.60. 8,944,218 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,150,688. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3.58 and a 200-day moving average of $3.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Gerdau has a one year low of $3.42 and a one year high of $5.13. The firm has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.74.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 9.57%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gerdau will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.055 dividend. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $0.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.11%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is 36.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Gerdau by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 22,794 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 4,105 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in Gerdau by 1,475.8% in the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 321,503 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 301,100 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Gerdau in the third quarter valued at $258,000. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in Gerdau by 98.9% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 229,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 114,311 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in Gerdau by 162.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 123,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 76,089 shares in the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.