[ad_1]
Investors in
American brands in the open air
Corp.
The shareholder vote on Tuesday prompted the largest US firearms maker to do more to combat gun violence.
The percentage of shareholders who supported the proposal at American will be disclosed in subsequent financial documents. American Outdoor said it would prepare the required report in February, but made no further concessions to investors who have secured the support of some large fund managers.
American Outdoor CEO James Debney said at Tuesday's annual meeting that he was "disappointed" by the vote. The company had stated that the illegal use of its firearms was a law enforcement problem.
Sister Judy Byron, the organizer of the effort, said in an interview earlier this year that the resolutions made by the two gun makers were a coalition of investors who had started buying weapons stocks two years ago. The work effort attracted more attention after a February shootout in a high school in Parkland, Fla., Which killed 17 people.
Michael Passoff, chief executive of Proxy Impact, a shareholder advocacy group that has worked with investors to urge gun makers to review their activities, said these groups would continue to push for deeper change.
"Unenthusiastic responses to majority shareholder votes never work well," said Passoff. "The company is undergoing more scrutiny and shareholders are coming back to ask for more."
The index giants like
Black rock
Inc.
Vanguard Group and
State Street
Corp.
Pressure on climate change and pay equity issues between men and women has increased. BlackRock and Vanguard are the two largest shareholders of Sturm, Ruger and American Outdoor Brands. Both have a combined 20% American Outdoor and 27% Sturm, Ruger, according to FactSet. Because many of their investments track indexes that group companies by size, location, or industry, they buy and sell less frequently than more active money managers. In April, BlackRock said it would remove gun retailers from certain funds that invest based on environmental, social and governance criteria.
This year, shareholders voted on 179 proposals relating to environmental, social and governance issues, according to the Sustainable Investments Institute. Nine, including the Sturm initiative, Ruger, got the majority, according to the report.
Meanwhile, analysts expect the industry to resume sales growth in the fall. American Outdoor expects its sales to increase by approximately 3% a year until April 30th.
Sturm, Ruger shares are up 30% this year and the company said it was boosting production in anticipation of a rise in sales this fall, including Black Friday, a day of more and more popular to buy weapons. American Outdoor Brands, August 30, forecasts higher than expected sales in the next nine months. The company's shares jumped 40% the next day.
This is a rebound from last year, when arms sales nationwide fell 9% to 14 million, according to analysts IFS Securities, and manufacturers have reduced their production and eliminated hundreds of jobs. American Outdoor's sales decreased by one-third as of April 30.
Major arms manufacturers have launched dozens of new weapons and marketing campaigns to reverse the downward trend in sales last year and widespread discounts as retailers used a vast inventory of weapons built before the election of President Trump.
As sales began to pick up this spring, Sturm and Ruger executives said they would prepare the shareholder report on security and reputational risks. But they said they would not take further action, such as investing in smart gun technology.
"What the proposal does not and can not do requires us to change businesses, which is legal and constitutionally protected," said CEO Chris Killoy at Sturm's annual Ruger meeting in May.
Write to Doug Cameron at [email protected] and Asjylyn Loder at [email protected]
Source link
