Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Now Covered by UBS Group

Stock analysts at UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Gerdau Price Performance

GGB stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $2.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 687,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,064,809. The stock has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 1.69. The company’s 50 day moving average is $2.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.16. Gerdau has a fifty-two week low of $2.67 and a fifty-two week high of $4.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Gerdau had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 7.03%. Equities research analysts expect that Gerdau will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GGB. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Gerdau by 307.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,037,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,631,000 after buying an additional 782,980 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Gerdau by 42.3% in the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 1,295,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,536,000 after acquiring an additional 385,535 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Gerdau by 298.1% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,097,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,341,000 after acquiring an additional 4,565,900 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Gerdau by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,865,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,028,000 after acquiring an additional 40,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Gerdau by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 208,977 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 16,313 shares during the period. 1.49% of the stock is currently 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.