Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• RGR reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $53.10 after a prior close of $52.01.
• The latest quarter topped estimates: earnings were $0.44 per share versus $0.37 expected, while revenue rose 16.5% year over year to $147.63 million. Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with a $46 price target.
• The company cut its quarterly dividend to $0.18 from $0.21 per share, an annualized yield of about 1.4%.

Shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $53.10 and last traded at $53.6750, with a volume of 22,096 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $52.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on RGR shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Up 1.6%

The stock has a market cap of $844.69 million, a PE ratio of 52.36 and a beta of 0.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.07.

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

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This is a drop from Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael Wilson sold 628 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.47, for a total value of $28,555.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 over the last quarter. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RGR. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,541,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the second quarter valued at $4,773,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $1,058,000. Finally, JRM Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $15,916,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.00% of the company's stock.

About Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. designs, manufactures and sells firearms. Its products include rifles, pistols and revolvers marketed under the Ruger brand for sporting, hunting, personal protection and law enforcement uses. Founded in 1949 by William B. Ruger and Alexander McCormick Sturm, the company has a long history in the U.S. firearms industry. It manufactures its products in the United States and sells them primarily through independent wholesale distributors and federally licensed retailers.

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