Banco Santander S.A. Purchases 34,562 Shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB)

Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) by 56.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 95,667 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 34,562 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Gerdau were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Gerdau during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Carrera Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gerdau in the fourth quarter worth $1,279,000. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Gerdau during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Gerdau by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 70,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555 shares in the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gerdau Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of GGB stock opened at $2.86 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $2.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.17. Gerdau S.A. has a 1 year low of $2.67 and a 1 year 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 1.69.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last released its 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 business had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.0175 per share. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.95%.

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.