Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Short Interest Update

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,590,000 shares, an increase of 15.2% from the August 15th total of 10,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,670,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Scotiabank cut shares of Gerdau from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st.

Gerdau Price Performance

GGB stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.03. 7,297,365 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,712,438. Gerdau has a 52 week low of $4.09 and a 52 week high of $6.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 1.65.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 8th. The basic materials company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.05). Gerdau had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 19.91%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Gerdau will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 22nd were paid a $0.0878 dividend. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 21st. This represents a $0.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.98%. Gerdau’s payout ratio is currently 46.69%.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Gerdau during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Gerdau by 424.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 5,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. 2.64% of the stock is currently 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.