Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Stock Position Lifted by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,032,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 7,492 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Gerdau were worth $2,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Gerdau by 11.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 88,979,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $311,427,000 after acquiring an additional 8,898,975 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,750,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Gerdau by 298.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,097,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,341,000 after purchasing an additional 4,565,900 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,332,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,665,000 after buying an additional 11,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Gerdau by 170.0% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 2,887,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,105,000 after buying an additional 1,817,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Gerdau Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GGB opened at $3.03 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 1.69. Gerdau S.A. has a 1 year low of $2.67 and a 1 year high of $4.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.15.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 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 analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. Analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.0175 per share. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Gerdau’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Gerdau in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

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.