Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $53.10 and last traded at $53.6750, with a volume of 22,096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RGR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in a report on Friday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.07. The company has a market capitalization of $844.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.36 and a beta of 0.11.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.07. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 2.74%. The business had revenue of $147.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.03 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a drop from Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.17%.

Insider Activity at Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

In other Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. news, VP Michael Wilson sold 628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.47, for a total transaction of $28,555.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,828 shares of company stock valued at $77,725. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 1,013.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 831 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 32.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.00% of the company’s stock.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Company Profile

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. designs, manufactures and sells firearms. Its products include rifles, pistols and revolvers marketed under the Ruger brand for sporting, hunting, personal protection and law enforcement uses. Founded in 1949 by William B. Ruger and Alexander McCormick Sturm, the company has a long history in the U.S. firearms industry. It manufactures its products in the United States and sells them primarily through independent wholesale distributors and federally licensed retailers.