Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Short Interest Up 19.8% in December

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) saw a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,180,000 shares, an increase of 19.8% from the December 15th total of 15,180,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gerdau

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GGB. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gerdau by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gerdau by 10.2% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 45,892 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 4,229 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Gerdau by 132.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 4,952 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Gerdau by 61.3% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,164 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 6,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leuthold Group LLC raised its stake in Gerdau by 18.3% during the second quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 48,828 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 7,549 shares in the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gerdau Price Performance

NYSE GGB traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $2.84. The company had a trading volume of 15,201,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,803,218. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.25. The company has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Gerdau has a twelve month low of $2.67 and a twelve month high of $4.04.

Gerdau Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.0528 dividend. This represents a $0.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Gerdau’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Gerdau’s payout ratio is 41.45%.

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.