Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Lake Street Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. 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, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

RGR stock opened at $38.56 on Friday. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.33 and a fifty-two week high of $48.21. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.11. The company has a market cap of $616.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.41 and a beta of 0.17.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.10. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 6.58% and a net margin of 2.11%.The business had revenue of $158.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is an increase from Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s payout ratio is 112.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bruce T. Pettet acquired 1,000 shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.89 per share, for a total transaction of $39,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $303,403.34. This represents a 15.14% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd William Seyfert bought 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.15 per share, with a total value of $58,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,725. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 7,500 shares of company stock worth $288,615 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 176.5% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 259.6% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.00% of the company’s stock.

About Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

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.