Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $35.46, but opened at $37.33. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. shares last traded at $39.44, with a volume of 72,218 shares traded.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 25.43%.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Up 10.3 %

The company has a market cap of $656.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.80.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The company had revenue of $145.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $137.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RGR. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $14,570,000 after buying an additional 172,055 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 381,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,487,000 after acquiring an additional 2,466 shares during the period. Rule One Partners LLC acquired a new position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,142,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 12.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 22,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 14.0% during the 4th 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. 64.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Sturm, Ruger & Co, Inc engages in the business of designing, manufacturing, and selling firearms to domestic customers. It operates under 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.