Sturm, Ruger & Co.

Somewhat surprisingly for a company that deals in lethal weapons, gun maker Sturm, Ruger & Co. (RGR) has been one of the tamest stocks in our portfolio. Since adding it on Nov. 15, its share price has deviated less than 5% in either direction. All that may change on Feb. 22, when the company is scheduled to issue its next quarterly earnings report and forward guidance.

The bad news is the FBI released data last week indicating a 26% decline in background checks in January versus the prior month, but some of that discrepancy is due to holiday gift buying in December. However, background checks in January were also 20% lower than in the same month last year, suggesting people probably are buying fewer guns.

But there is also some good news; during the fourth quarter of 2016 the company repurchased $14 million of its own stock at an average share price of $49.43, which explains its steady behavior. And with another $59 million authorized for stock buybacks, the company can afford to keep it at or above the $50 mark through the remainder of our target holding period due to expire on May 15 so downside risk should be limited.

Stock Talk

Jim Pearce

Jim Pearce

Yesterday evening RGR reported quarterly results that were strong across the board http://finance.yahoo.com/news/kohls-quarterly-profit-beats-higher-142755910.html), including a 21% increase in net sales and a 43% improvement in EPS. However, the stock is trading flat this morning, presumably due to concerns over decelerating sales growth since the threat of tighter gun laws has abated (i.e., no need to stock up on ammo with a republican in the White House since you’ll be able to buy it later if you need it). We have a small loss in this trade, but 3 months left in our holding period so will be interesting to see if gun sales end up being higher than anticipated.

Add New Comments

You must be logged in to post to Stock Talk OR create an account