Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Raises Position in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) by 164.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 515,417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 320,404 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Gerdau were worth $1,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GGB. FMR LLC lifted its position in Gerdau by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 88,979,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $311,427,000 after acquiring an additional 8,898,975 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Gerdau by 298.1% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,097,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,341,000 after purchasing an additional 4,565,900 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 170.0% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 2,887,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,817,800 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,283,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 307.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,037,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,631,000 after purchasing an additional 782,980 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of Gerdau stock opened at $2.92 on Monday. Gerdau S.A. has a 1 year low of $2.67 and a 1 year high of $4.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $2.94 and its 200 day moving average is $3.14. The stock has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. Gerdau had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 7.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.0175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is 13.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, UBS Group began coverage on Gerdau in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company.

Gerdau 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.