Gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson Holding Corp announced that it plans to buy back another $15 million worth of shares even with the talks of tighter gun control laws as the aftermath of the school shooting in Connecticut earlier this month. The company said that it has completed the $20 million share buyback and would buy the additional shares by June 30.
Smith & Wesson shares gained more than 80 percent in the past year. Last Thursday, it went up 4 percent at $8.30 on the Nasdaq. The stock has lost more than a tenth of its value since the Connecticut shooting.
During Wednesday’s closing, Smith & Wesson’s shares were down 13 percent since the shooting. The stock has been off 20 percent from a multiyear high this month before the shooting after the company announced its previous buyback. The company reported that it increased its fiscal second quarter profit and also raised its full year outlook.
Shares of other gun manufacturers such as Forjas Taurus SA and Sturm Ruger & Co. have been down in recent weeks. Sturm Ruger shares managed to gain 2 percent on Thursday. Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP as well as the New York State Common Retirement Fund said that they were reviewing their investments in gun-related companies after the Newtown elementary school shooting.
Buybacks are common practice among companies that have lots of cash and want to get extra shares they issued before under compensation plans. This would also convince investors that their shares are undervalued. Smith & Wesson said that it expects to fund its new stock buyback program with cash on hand and working capital.
Fears of stricter gun laws tend to improve firearms makers’ shares because of the expected sales pickup but investors have been selling because of the uncertainties of what the new gun laws would be.
Leave a Reply