Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Position in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Free Report) by 164.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 515,417 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 320,404 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Gerdau were worth $1,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Gerdau in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Zhang Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Gerdau Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:GGB traded down $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $2.80. 16,484,358 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,273,859. Gerdau S.A. has a 1-year low of $2.67 and a 1-year high of $4.04. The company has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm's 50-day moving average is $2.94 and its 200 day moving average is $3.13.

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

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.0175 dividend. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company.

Gerdau 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.