Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 8,919,435 shares were traded 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 Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $3.32 and a 200 day moving average of $3.36.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.09 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.055 per share. This represents a $0.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.88%. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GGB. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Gerdau by 132.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4,952 shares in the last quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Gerdau in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Gerdau during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new stake in Gerdau during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. 1.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.