5,972,460 Shares in Gerdau S.A. $GGB Acquired by Donald Smith & CO. Inc.

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,972,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,440,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Gerdau as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau during the first quarter worth $30,134,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Gerdau by 54.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,363,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,393,000 after buying an additional 1,541,311 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Gerdau by 50.7% during the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 4,036,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,787,000 after buying an additional 1,358,300 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,016,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,729,000 after acquiring an additional 366,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 821.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,344,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,657,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089,675 shares during the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gerdau Trading Down 6.1%

NYSE GGB opened at $3.48 on Friday. Gerdau S.A. has a one year low of $2.27 and a one year high of $3.72. The firm has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.70.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 4.38%. Analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.0521 per share. This represents a $0.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Gerdau from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.80.

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.