Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Shares Gap Down to $4.46

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $4.46, but opened at $4.29. Gerdau shares last traded at $4.27, with a volume of 1,260,010 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Gerdau from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $5.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Monday.

Gerdau Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 1.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $4.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.47.

Shares of Gerdau are set to split before the market opens on Tuesday, April 30th. The 6-5 split was announced on Tuesday, April 30th. The newly issued shares will be distributed 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 for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter. Gerdau had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 15.05%. As a group, research analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.56 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.0202 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Gerdau by 91.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,892 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 25,222 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Gerdau by 146.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 125,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 74,615 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Gerdau by 160.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 120,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 74,364 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gerdau by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 320,968 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,064,000 after purchasing an additional 38,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Gerdau during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

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.