Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on RGR. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Trading Down 1.5%

RGR stock opened at $43.74 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.56. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.33 and a 12 month high of $48.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $698.88 million, a P/E ratio of 58.32 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $158.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.54 million. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a net margin of 2.11% and a return on equity of 6.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,344.60. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of RGR. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 108.0% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 22,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,000 after buying an additional 11,723 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $393,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 71,423 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,368,000. 64.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.