Gunmaker stocks slide after Dick’s halts assault rifle sales

Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Guns sit on display at a Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. store in Paramus, New Jersey.

Shares of gunmakers Sturm, Ruger & Co. and American Outdoor Brands — formerly Smith & Wesson — fell Wednesday after Dick’s Sporting Goods announced that it will no longer sell assault-style rifles.

As one of the country’s largest sports retailers, Dick’s told customers Wednesday that the company was “deeply disturbed” by the Feb. 14 mass shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The gunman used an AR-15 assault rifle that he legally purchased, authorities have said.

“Thoughts and prayers are not enough,” Dick’s Chairman and CEO Edward Stack said in a statement. “We will no longer sell assault-style rifles, also referred to as modern sporting rifles. We had already removed them from all Dick’s stores after the Sandy Hook massacre, but we will now remove them from sale at all 35 Field & Stream stores.”

Shares of American Outdoor Brands fell more than 1 percent in premarket trading Wednesday morning, while Sturm, Ruger & Co. fell 0.2 percent. Dick’s, on the other hand, rose 1.2 percent. Shares of American Outdoor are down 9 percent since the massacre, while Sturm, Ruger shares are off by 5 percent.

Stack said Dick’s would no longer sell firearms to anyone under 21 years of age and will not sell high-capacity magazines.

He also encouraged Washington lawmakers to make similar changes, recommending legislators pass a national ban on assault-style rifles and raise the minimum age for gun ownership.

“Some will say these steps can’t guarantee tragedies like Parkland will never happen again,” Stack said. “They may be correct — but if common sense reform is enacted and even one life is saved, it will have been worth it.”