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

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

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Down 0.4%

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.79. 294,777 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 161,842. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.74 and a 1-year high of $46.40. The firm has a market cap of $592.70 million, a P/E ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 0.11. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $37.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.16.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $135.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.05 million. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a net margin of 5.84% and a return on equity of 9.78%. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Timothy Lowney purchased 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $33.37 per share, for a total transaction of $73,414.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,874 shares of the company's stock, valued at $296,125.38. This trade represents a 32.96% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher John Killoy sold 8,583 shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.01, for a total value of $317,656.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,559 shares in the company, valued at $1,538,098.59. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 323,785.7% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 22,672 shares of the company's stock valued at $802,000 after acquiring an additional 22,665 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 44,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 81,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,884,000 after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 12.6% in the fourth 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. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 32.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,018 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. 64.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.