Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Stock Bumped Down to “Buy” by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR – Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

RGR has been the subject of several other reports. Zacks Research upgraded Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in a research report on Friday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of RGR opened at $50.18 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $42.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.93. The company has a market capitalization of $801.88 million, a P/E ratio of 49.68 and a beta of 0.11. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.33 and a fifty-two week high of $51.42.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.07. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 2.74%. The business had revenue of $147.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a drop from Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.17%.

Insider Activity at Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

In other news, VP Michael Wilson sold 628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.47, for a total transaction of $28,555.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 1,828 shares of company stock valued at $77,725 in the last three months. 4.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RGR. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 548,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,753,000 after purchasing an additional 71,423 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,541,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,773,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,058,000. Finally, JRM Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $15,916,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.00% of the company’s stock.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells firearms for the commercial sporting market. Its product portfolio includes pistols, revolvers, rifles, and related accessories marketed under the Ruger brand. The company serves customers through independent distributors, retailers, and other firearms dealers.

Founded in 1949 by William B. Ruger and Alexander M. Sturm, the company is one of the largest firearms manufacturers in the United States. Its products are manufactured in the U.S.

Further Reading

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