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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Sturm, Ruger from “strong buy” to “buy.” Across analysts, the stock has a consensus “hold” rating and a $46 price target.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting earnings of $0.44 per share versus $0.37 forecast and revenue of $147.63 million versus $131.03 million expected; revenue rose 16.5% year over year.
• RGR opened at $50.18, near its 52-week high of $51.42. Company insiders sold 1,828 shares worth a total of $77,725 in the last quarter.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

RGR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:RGR opened at $50.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $801.88 million, a PE ratio of 38.98 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.93. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $147.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $131.03 million. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 6.58% and a net margin of 2.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. news, VP Michael Wilson sold 628 shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. stock in a transaction 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 1,828 shares of company stock valued at $77,725 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $49,541,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 15.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 548,286 shares of the company's stock worth $20,753,000 after buying an additional 71,423 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 7.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 397,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,933,000 after buying an additional 27,107 shares during the last quarter. JRM Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the first quarter worth $15,916,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 232,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,301,000 after buying an additional 9,999 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.00% of the company's stock.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Company Profile

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.

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