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

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)’s stock 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 trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Gerdau from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $5.00 to $6.00 in a research note on Monday, April 15th.

Gerdau Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $4.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.59. The company has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 1.73.

Gerdau’s stock is scheduled to split on Tuesday, April 30th. The 6-5 split was announced on Tuesday, April 30th. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, April 30th.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter. The company 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, equities analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.0202 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Gerdau by 175.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 5,138 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC bought a new position in Gerdau during the third quarter worth $46,000. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in Gerdau during the first quarter worth $44,000. IPG Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gerdau in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gerdau in the third quarter valued at $55,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Gerdau

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.