Short Interest in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Expands By 40.9%

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,180,000 shares, a growth of 40.9% from the November 30th total of 10,770,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 11,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GGB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Gerdau by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 152,685 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 34,069 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Gerdau during the 3rd quarter worth about $525,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau during the 3rd quarter worth about $189,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,741,000. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gerdau Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE GGB traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $2.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,288,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,658,086. Gerdau has a 1 year low of $2.86 and a 1 year high of $4.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.0528 dividend. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.28%. Gerdau’s payout ratio is 39.13%.

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.