Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 460,200 shares, a decrease of 18.2% from the March 15th total of 562,900 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 146,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of RGR traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 93,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,023. The company has a market cap of $675.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.12. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.11 and a twelve month high of $47.27.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The business had revenue of $145.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $137.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 54.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 411,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,570,000 after acquiring an additional 172,055 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 381,193 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares during the last quarter. Rule One Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the third quarter worth $9,142,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 12.6% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 184,831 shares of the company's stock worth $6,537,000 after buying an additional 22,670 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.00% of the company's stock.

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.