Gerdau’s (GGB) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at Bank of America

Bank of America reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

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

Gerdau Price Performance

NYSE GGB opened at $2.51 on Monday. Gerdau has a 52 week low of $2.27 and a 52 week high of $4.04. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $2.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.09.

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

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.0175 dividend. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Zhang Financial LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group bought a new stake in Gerdau during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gerdau Company Profile

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.