Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Reaches New 1-Year Low at $3.58

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $3.58 and last traded at $3.63, with a volume of 782793 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $3.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Gerdau from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $5.00 to $6.00 in a report on Monday.

Gerdau Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $4.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 1.73.

Gerdau shares are going to split before the market opens on Tuesday, April 30th. The 6-5 split was announced on Tuesday, April 30th. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, April 30th.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter. Gerdau had a return on equity of 15.05% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.56 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a $0.0202 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Gerdau’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gerdau by 91.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,892 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 25,222 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Gerdau by 146.8% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 125,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 74,615 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Gerdau by 160.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 120,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 74,364 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Gerdau by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 320,968 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,064,000 after purchasing an additional 38,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Gerdau in the 1st quarter valued at about $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

About Gerdau

Gerdau SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer company. It operates through Brazil Business, North America Business, South America Business, and Special Steel Business divisions. The company 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.