HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 11,132 Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Gerdau by 52.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 284,272 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 98,126 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in Gerdau by 58.4% in the 2nd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 77,552 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 28,581 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Gerdau by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 124,888 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 10,888 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Gerdau by 1,706.6% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 288,519 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $952,000 after acquiring an additional 272,549 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in Gerdau by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 258,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 43,000 shares during the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gerdau Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGB opened at $2.98 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.29. Gerdau S.A. has a 52 week low of $2.92 and a 52 week high of $4.10. The company has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 1.73. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.0528 dividend. This is a boost from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.09%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.13%.

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.