Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) VP Sells 600 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: VP Michael Wilson sold 600 shares at an average price of $41.95, reducing his direct ownership by 48.86% to 628 shares. The transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• Quarterly performance: Sturm, Ruger reported earnings of $0.52 per share, beating estimates by $0.10, while revenue rose 19.3% year over year to $158.06 million.
• Dividend and analyst view: The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.11 to $0.21, although its annualized payout ratio is 112%. Analyst opinions remain mixed, resulting in an average “Hold” rating and a $46 price target.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - Get Free Report) VP Michael Wilson sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.95, for a total transaction of $25,170.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 628 shares in the company, valued at $26,344.60. The trade was a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Trading Down 0.9%

RGR traded down $0.37 during trading on Monday, hitting $42.44. The stock had a trading volume of 69,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 158,039. The firm has a market cap of $678.14 million, a PE ratio of 56.58 and a beta of 0.19. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.33 and a 12 month high of $48.21. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.34.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $158.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.54 million. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 6.58% and a net margin of 2.11%.The firm's revenue was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on RGR shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.00.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,541,000. JRM Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $15,916,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,773,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 valued at $20,753,000 after buying an additional 71,423 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 103.2% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 87,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,521,000 after purchasing an additional 44,603 shares in the last quarter. 64.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Company Profile

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells firearms for the commercial sporting market. Its product portfolio includes modern sporting rifles, bolt-action rifles, single-shot rifles, autoloading rifles, shotguns, pistols, and revolvers. The company markets its products primarily under the Ruger brand.

Founded in 1949 by William B. Ruger and Alexander McCormick Sturm, the company has developed a broad lineup serving hunters, sport shooters, firearm collectors, and personal-protection customers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.