Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Hits New 52-Week Low at $3.08

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $3.08 and last traded at $3.09, with a volume of 285852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GGB. Bank of America upgraded Gerdau from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $4.50 to $5.00 in a report on Friday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Gerdau from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $4.17 to $5.00 in a research note on Monday, April 15th.

Gerdau Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 1.77.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 11.04%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a $0.055 dividend. This represents a $0.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.12%. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Gerdau’s payout ratio is currently 36.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gerdau by 175.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 5,138 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Gerdau during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. IPG Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gerdau during the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau in the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau in the 1st quarter valued at about $54,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by 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.