Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Trims Stake in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) by 50.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 154,536 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 155,022 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Gerdau were worth $445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in shares of Gerdau by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 95,667 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 34,562 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Gerdau in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Carrera Capital Advisors bought a new position in Gerdau in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC bought a new position in Gerdau in the 4th quarter worth $1,279,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Gerdau in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company.

Gerdau Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of Gerdau stock opened at $2.95 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.85 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $2.91 and a 200 day moving average of $3.15. Gerdau S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $2.67 and a fifty-two week high of $4.04.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.06. Gerdau had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 7.74%. The business had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.95%.

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.