Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) Stock Price Down 22.2% – Should You Sell?

Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB)’s stock price fell 22.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $71.14 and last traded at $67.5230. 140,161 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 367,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Turning Point Brands in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Turning Point Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Turning Point Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Turning Point Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.67.

Turning Point Brands Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 4.12 and a current ratio of 5.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $112.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.41.

Turning Point Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This is an increase from Turning Point Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Turning Point Brands’s payout ratio is 10.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew Flynn sold 2,000 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value of $195,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,443 shares in the company, valued at $921,353.51. This trade represents a 17.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Turning Point Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TPB. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Turning Point Brands by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Turning Point Brands by 6.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 18,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Turning Point Brands by 5.1% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 25,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Turning Point Brands by 253.8% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 12,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 8,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 1,428.7% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 4,286 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

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.