UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Stock

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at UBS Group from $4.40 to $4.60 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.85% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on GGB. Scotiabank upgraded Gerdau from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Gerdau from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4.60 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gerdau presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4.60.

Gerdau Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE GGB opened at $3.78 on Thursday. Gerdau has a 1 year low of $2.27 and a 1 year high of $4.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The business’s 50-day moving average is $3.88 and its 200 day moving average is $3.67.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. Gerdau had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 6.20%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Gerdau will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gerdau news, Chairman Guilherme Chagas G. Johannpeter sold 85,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total value of $281,647.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GGB. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Gerdau by 68.9% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 3,931 shares in the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the third quarter worth $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 95.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 5,216 shares in the last quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.