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

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 growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 900,900 shares, a growth of 28.0% from the July 31st total of 703,800 shares. Approximately 5.7% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 192,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 192,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days. Approximately 5.7% of the company's stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE RGR remained flat at $37.16 during trading hours on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 222,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,784. The stock has a market cap of $600.51 million, a PE ratio of 119.87 and a beta of 0.10. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.64 and a 52-week high of $42.76. The company's 50-day moving average is $34.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.74.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 206.45%.

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.