Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $136.99, but opened at $109.67. Turning Point Brands shares last traded at $105.7580, with a volume of 110,992 shares traded.

The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $121.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.42 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 12.02% and a return on equity of 24.44%. Turning Point Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 29.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share.

Turning Point Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Turning Point Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Turning Point Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Turning Point Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. iA Financial set a $110.00 price target on shares of Turning Point Brands in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Turning Point Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Turning Point Brands in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.67.

Insider Activity

In other Turning Point Brands news, Director H.C. Charles Diao sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.20, for a total transaction of $216,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,060,792.80. This represents a 16.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman David Edward Glazek sold 30,000 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.26, for a total transaction of $3,307,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 127,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,012,171.58. This represents a 19.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TPB. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Turning Point Brands by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Turning Point Brands by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 491 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Turning Point Brands by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Turning Point Brands Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $120.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.65. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 5.56 and a quick ratio of 3.98.

Turning Point Brands Company Profile

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.