Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday. 164,580 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the previous session’s volume of 166,943 shares. The stock last traded at $42.8390 and had previously closed at $43.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RGR has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised 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 issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Up 0.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $690.90 million, a PE ratio of 57.74 and a beta of 0.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.67.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.52 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 firm had revenue of $158.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. news, VP Michael Wilson sold 600 shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. 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 directly owned 628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,344.60. The trade was a 48.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 15.0% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 548,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,753,000 after buying an additional 71,423 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the second quarter worth about $49,541,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,773,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,058,000. Finally, JRM Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $15,916,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.00% of the company’s stock.

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.