Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 320,404 Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) by 164.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Gerdau in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Zhang Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gerdau in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Gerdau during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, UBS Group started coverage on Gerdau in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Gerdau Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of GGB opened at $2.92 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.14. Gerdau S.A. has a twelve month low of $2.67 and a twelve month high of $4.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 1.69. 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 (NYSE:GGB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. Gerdau had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 7.03%. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.0175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.