American Century Companies Inc. Increases Position in Gerdau S.A. $GGB

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) by 20.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,821,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 804,259 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Gerdau worth $14,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Gerdau by 314.9% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 262,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 199,115 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Gerdau in the third quarter valued at $5,958,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in Gerdau during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $17,440,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the third quarter worth approximately $981,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in Gerdau by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 5,435,331 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,850,000 after buying an additional 1,752,282 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Gerdau Price Performance

Gerdau stock opened at $3.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.09 and a 200-day moving average of $3.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Gerdau S.A. has a 52-week low of $2.27 and a 52-week high of $4.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.21, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.46.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 1.93%. As a group, analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.0194 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Gerdau’s payout ratio is 166.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on GGB. Zacks Research raised Gerdau from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.60 price target (up from $4.00) on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gerdau has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.60.

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.