Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) saw a significant 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. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 8,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days.

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 research report on Monday, April 15th.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Gerdau during the third quarter worth about $856,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Gerdau by 0.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 970,159 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,628,000 after buying an additional 7,322 shares in the last quarter. Moneda S.A. Administradora General de Fondos grew its position in Gerdau by 36.8% during the third quarter. Moneda S.A. Administradora General de Fondos now owns 4,759,360 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,702,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280,989 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau during the third quarter worth approximately $274,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 1,475.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 321,503 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 301,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of GGB traded up $0.12 during mid-day 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 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 $7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 1.73. Gerdau has a 52 week low of $3.42 and a 52 week high of $5.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $4.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.43.

Gerdau’s stock is scheduled to split before the market opens on Tuesday, April 30th. The 6-5 split was announced on Tuesday, April 30th. The newly created shares will be distributed 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 for the quarter. Gerdau had a return on equity of 15.05% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Gerdau will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

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

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.