Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Acquires New Holdings in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 158,259 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Gerdau in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Gerdau during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Gerdau during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC bought a new position in Gerdau during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Monday, April 7th.

Gerdau Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Gerdau stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $2.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,026,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,366,595. Gerdau S.A. has a 12 month low of $2.27 and a 12 month high of $4.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $2.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.07. The stock has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.37.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 7.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.0175 dividend. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Gerdau's payout ratio is presently 13.95%.

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.