Bank of America Corp DE Raises Stake in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) by 130.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,095,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,718,323 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.49% of Gerdau worth $29,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGB. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Gerdau during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Gerdau during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Zhang Financial LLC purchased a new position in Gerdau during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Gerdau during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Carrera Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Gerdau during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on Gerdau from $3.30 to $2.90 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Monday, April 7th.

Gerdau Price Performance

Shares of GGB stock opened at $2.81 on Friday. Gerdau S.A. has a 52-week low of $2.27 and a 52-week high of $3.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $2.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.96.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 7.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.0188 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous dividend of $0.00. This represents a dividend yield of 2.95%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.14%.

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.