Gerdau (GGB) Stock Moves -0.92%: What You Should Know
Gerdau (GGB) closed at $4.33 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.92% move from the prior day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 0.93% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.43%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.17%.
Coming into today, shares of the steel producer had gained 3.31% in the past month. In that same time, the Basic Materials sector lost 10.51%, while the S&P 500 gained 6.31%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Gerdau as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Gerdau to post earnings of $0.48 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 11.63%.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $1.54 per share and revenue of $20.36 billion. These totals would mark changes of -8.33% and +40.03%, respectively, from last year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Gerdau. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.6% lower. Gerdau is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
In terms of valuation, Gerdau is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 2.84. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 2.92.
Also, we should mention that GGB has a PEG ratio of 0.13. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Steel - Producers industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.18 as of yesterday's close.
The Steel - Producers industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 208, putting it in the bottom 18% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow GGB in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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