Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

RGR has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of RGR stock opened at $43.93 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $701.94 million, a PE ratio of 58.57 and a beta of 0.15. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.33 and a 52-week high of $48.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.29 and its 200 day moving average is $39.59.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $128.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 112.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. news, VP Michael Wilson sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.95, for a total transaction of $25,170.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 628 shares in the company, valued at $26,344.60. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

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

About Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

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.