Capital International Inc. CA Reduces Stake in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Capital International Inc. CA reduced its holdings in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 35.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 645,972 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 349,278 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA's holdings in Gerdau were worth $1,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth $79,000. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Gerdau in the 4th quarter worth about $153,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Gerdau by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,700,747 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,418,000 after buying an additional 810,621 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 1,935,021 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,573,000 after purchasing an additional 639,095 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC bought a new position in Gerdau in the fourth quarter worth approximately $434,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Gerdau Stock Performance

Shares of GGB stock traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $2.59. The company had a trading volume of 10,219,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,284,692. The firm has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 1.37. Gerdau S.A. has a twelve month low of $2.27 and a twelve month high of $4.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $2.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. Gerdau had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 7.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.0175 dividend. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GGB. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Gerdau in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock.

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.