Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $48.75 and last traded at $48.4150, with a volume of 157,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on RGR. Zacks Research raised shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Trading Up 3.1%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.67 and its 200 day moving average is $39.88. The company has a market cap of $802.83 million, a P/E ratio of 66.99 and a beta of 0.15.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $158.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.54 million. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 6.58% and a net margin of 2.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 112.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. news, VP Michael Wilson sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.95, for a total transaction of $25,170.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,344.60. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,541,000. JRM Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $15,916,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,773,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 548,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,753,000 after buying an additional 71,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 103.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 87,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,521,000 after buying an additional 44,603 shares in the last quarter. 64.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Company Profile

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc designs, manufactures and sells firearms under the Ruger brand. Its product portfolio includes rifles, pistols, revolvers and shotguns, serving civilian sporting, hunting, personal protection and law enforcement markets.

The company also produces and markets firearms under the Marlin brand. Its offerings include traditional and modern sporting rifles, rimfire and centerfire firearms, and related accessories. Sturm, Ruger primarily serves the United States through a network of independent distributors and retailers, with products also sold in select international markets.

Founded in 1949 by William B.