Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. shares reached a new 52-week high of $42.93, but analysts have downgraded its rating from "buy" to "hold."
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.41 EPS, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.38, with revenue increasing by 1.3% year-over-year.
• Sturm, Ruger recently declared a dividend of $0.16 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.5%, but its payout ratio is significantly high at 206.45%.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $42.93 and last traded at $42.89, with a volume of 137738 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 29th.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Trading Up 5.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $684.59 million, a P/E ratio of 136.65 and a beta of 0.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.24 and a 200-day moving average of $36.73.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 1.07%.The firm had revenue of $132.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.99 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 206.45%.

Institutional Trading of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 748.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 653 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 115.1% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 968 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 18,642.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 506.1% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,400 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 159.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 874 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 & 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.

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