Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on TPB. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research cut Turning Point Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $110.00 target price on Turning Point Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners lifted their price target on Turning Point Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.67.

Turning Point Brands Price Performance

TPB opened at $119.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.91 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $104.98 and a 200-day moving average of $96.14. The company has a quick ratio of 3.98, a current ratio of 5.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Turning Point Brands has a 12-month low of $51.48 and a 12-month high of $119.25.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.46. Turning Point Brands had a return on equity of 24.44% and a net margin of 12.02%.The firm had revenue of $118.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. Turning Point Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Turning Point Brands will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Turning Point Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 19th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 19th. Turning Point Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brittani Cushman sold 15,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.66, for a total value of $1,550,315.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 34,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,526,280.42. This trade represents a 30.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen Usher sold 1,000 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $101,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,175 shares in the company, valued at $522,675. This trade represents a 16.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 96,220 shares of company stock valued at $9,958,542. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Turning Point Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TPB. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Turning Point Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Turning Point Brands during the third quarter worth $28,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Turning Point Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 90.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Turning Point Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Turning Point Brands

Turning Point Brands, Inc (NYSE: TPB) is a U.S.-based consumer products company focused on the manufacture, marketing and distribution of smokeless tobacco, vaping and cigar products. Headquartered in Old Hickory, Tennessee, the company serves retail outlets across all 50 states through a direct-store-delivery network and select third-party distributors. Turning Point Brands operates two reporting segments—Smokeless Products and Cigar—and leverages its logistics capabilities to offer a broad portfolio of brands and SKUs.

In its Smokeless Products segment, Turning Point Brands produces moist smokeless tobacco under leading brand names such as Grizzly, Kodiak and Stoker’s.