Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Shares Gap Up to $4.27

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $4.27, but opened at $4.40. Gerdau shares last traded at $4.31, with a volume of 5,815,323 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Gerdau Stock Up 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a PE ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.47.

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 minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, April 30th.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter. Gerdau had a return on equity of 15.05% and a net margin of 10.80%. Analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Gerdau by 91.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,892 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 25,222 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Gerdau by 146.8% in the 1st 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 160.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 120,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 74,364 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Gerdau by 13.4% in the first 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. acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the first quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gerdau Company Profile

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.