Short Interest in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Increases By 109.1%

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,910,000 shares, an increase of 109.1% from the March 31st total of 1,870,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Gerdau Price Performance

GGB traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3.61. The stock had a trading volume of 6,893,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,441,841. The company has a market cap of $7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 1.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4.25 and a 200 day moving average of $4.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.59. Gerdau has a 1 year low of $3.42 and a 1 year high of $5.13.

Shares of Gerdau are scheduled 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 closing bell on Tuesday, April 30th.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Gerdau will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a $0.0202 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Gerdau’s payout ratio is currently 10.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Gerdau from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $5.00 to $6.00 in a report on Monday, April 15th.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GGB. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Gerdau by 22.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 22,794 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 4,105 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Gerdau by 15.6% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,010,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,537,000 after purchasing an additional 136,089 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC lifted its position in Gerdau by 6.6% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 59,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Gerdau by 4.4% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 522,905 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,494,000 after purchasing an additional 22,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Gerdau in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

About Gerdau

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.