Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RGR opened at $35.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $594.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63 and a beta of 0.11. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.16. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.74 and a 52-week high of $46.40.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $135.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.05 million. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 5.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Phillip Widman acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $33.58 per share, with a total value of $134,320.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 31,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,066,400.06. This represents a 14.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Timothy Lowney acquired 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $33.37 per share, for a total transaction of $73,414.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 8,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $296,125.38. This trade represents a 32.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 33,219.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 25,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after buying an additional 25,579 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 202,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,174,000 after buying an additional 22,736 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 98,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,470,000 after buying an additional 15,928 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 53,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,876,000 after buying an additional 15,386 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $481,000. Institutional investors own 64.00% of the company’s stock.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Company Profile

Sturm, Ruger & Co, Inc engages in the business of designing, manufacturing, and selling firearms to domestic customers. It operates through the Firearms and Castings segments. The Firearms segment focuses on manufacturing and selling rifles, pistols, and revolvers principally to a number of federally licensed, independent wholesale distributors.