Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 8,919,435 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 12% from the previous session’s volume of 7,929,212 shares.The stock last traded at $3.16 and had previously closed at $3.22.

Gerdau Stock Up 0.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.36.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. Gerdau had a return on equity of 8.43% and a net margin of 7.88%. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.055 dividend. This represents a $0.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Gerdau’s payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Institutional Trading of Gerdau

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 132.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4,952 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in Gerdau by 10.2% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 45,892 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 4,229 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Gerdau by 7.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 111,022 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 8,168 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 23.2% during the third quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 3,235 shares during the period. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its position in shares of Gerdau by 8.3% during the second quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 2,202,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,268,000 after acquiring an additional 169,730 shares during the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Gerdau

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.