Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest fell 14.8% in April to 609,902 shares, a short-interest ratio of 4.0 days that represents about 4.0% of the company's shares.
• Sturm, Ruger increased its quarterly dividend to $0.08 (from $0.04), equal to an annualized $0.32 and a yield of roughly 0.7%.
• The most recent quarter saw EPS miss at $0.26 versus a $0.32 estimate while revenue beat at $151.06M, and analysts' consensus remains a "Reduce" rating with a $43 target.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 609,902 shares, a drop of 14.8% from the March 31st total of 716,209 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 152,062 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Currently, 4.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE RGR traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.24. 94,915 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 175,321. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $40.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $689.51 million, a P/E ratio of -154.41 and a beta of 0.15. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.33 and a twelve month high of $48.21.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $151.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $139.24 million. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a positive return on equity of 6.93% and a negative net margin of 0.80%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is -114.29%.

Institutional Trading of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 514,510 shares of the company's stock worth $22,366,000 after buying an additional 122,111 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 496,315 shares of the company's stock worth $16,205,000 after buying an additional 3,886 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 377,666 shares of the company's stock worth $12,331,000 after buying an additional 64,190 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 370,339 shares of the company's stock worth $12,091,000 after buying an additional 25,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $9,486,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on RGR. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Company Profile

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc, founded in 1949 by William B. Ruger and Alexander McCormick Sturm, is a leading American designer and manufacturer of firearms. Headquartered in Newport, New Hampshire, the company has established a reputation for precision engineering and durable products. Its manufacturing footprint includes facilities in Newport and Mayodan, North Carolina, where it maintains a vertically integrated production model spanning metallurgy, machining, and assembly.

The company's product portfolio encompasses a broad range of small arms, including centerfire and rimfire rifles, shotguns, semi-automatic pistols, revolvers, and accessories.

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