Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $3.99 and last traded at $3.9750, with a volume of 14574252 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GGB. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4.60 price target (up previously from $4.00) on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.60.

Gerdau Trading Down 0.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.28.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.01). Gerdau had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 4.38%.The business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. On average, sell-side 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 was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were paid a $0.0521 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Gerdau’s payout ratio is presently 74.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GGB. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Gerdau by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 582,949 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 231,588 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 54.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,363,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,393,000 after buying an additional 1,541,311 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Gerdau by 821.1% during the first 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 worth $6,657,000 after buying an additional 2,089,675 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $737,000. Finally, Kawa Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Gerdau in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,011,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gerdau Company Profile

Gerdau SA is a Brazilian-based steel producer engaged in the manufacture and distribution of long steel products for the construction, industrial and agricultural sectors. Established in 1901, the company operates an integrated network of electric-arc furnaces and rolling mills, producing reinforcement bars, wire rod, merchant bars and structural shapes. Gerdau’s product portfolio also includes specialty long steel, high-yield reinforcement, rail, beams and steel coils, as well as value-added processing services such as cutting, bending and coating.

The company has expanded its footprint beyond Brazil, with significant operations in North America, South America and a presence in select European markets.