Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Sets New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $40.91 and last traded at $40.63, with a volume of 186458 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.68.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Down 15.6 %

The company has a market cap of $568.17 million, a P/E ratio of 19.39 and a beta of 0.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $39.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.05.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.19). Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company had revenue of $135.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 71.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 411,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,570,000 after acquiring an additional 172,055 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 381,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 202,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,174,000 after purchasing an additional 22,736 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 184,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,537,000 after purchasing an additional 22,670 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 119.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 177,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,284,000 after purchasing an additional 96,703 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.00% of the company’s stock.

About Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Sturm, Ruger & Co, Inc engages in the business of designing, manufacturing, and selling firearms to domestic customers. It operates through the Firearms and Castings segments. The Firearms segment focuses on manufacturing and selling rifles, pistols, and revolvers principally to a number of federally licensed, independent wholesale distributors.