Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Short Interest Up 28.0% in August

Key Points

• Short interest in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. increased by 28.0% in August, reaching a total of 900,900 shares shorted as of August 15th.
• Institutional ownership is significant, with 64.00% of the company's stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16, translating to an annualized yield of 1.8%, but with a high dividend payout ratio of 206.45%.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 900,900 shares, an increase of 28.0% from the July 31st total of 703,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 192,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Approximately 5.7% of the company's stock are short sold. Approximately 5.7% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 192,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

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

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 5.9% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 56,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,025,000 after acquiring an additional 3,130 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 291.6% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 2,257 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 5.0% in the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 15,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 1.5% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 60,012 shares of the company's stock worth $2,154,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 8.4% in the second quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 8,028 shares of the company's stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. 64.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

RGR traded down $0.42 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $35.21. The stock had a trading volume of 126,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,197. The company has a market capitalization of $568.99 million, a PE ratio of 113.58 and a beta of 0.10. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.64 and a twelve month high of $42.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.84.

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

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 206.45%.

About Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

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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