Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Now Covered by UBS Group

UBS Group began coverage on shares of Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Gerdau Stock Performance

NYSE GGB opened at $2.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $2.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.16. Gerdau has a 12-month low of $2.67 and a 12-month high of $4.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.85 and a beta of 1.69.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 7.03%. Research analysts expect that Gerdau will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.0175 per share. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau during the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in shares of Gerdau by 161.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 105,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 64,923 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth $926,000. West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth $85,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Gerdau by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 309,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. 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. 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.