Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) Trading Up 5.5% – Here’s What Happened

Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) shares shot up 5.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $79.74 and last traded at $79.6250. 171,543 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 437,749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TPB shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Turning Point Brands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Turning Point Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Turning Point Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Turning Point Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Turning Point Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.75.

Turning Point Brands Trading Up 5.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 4.05, a current ratio of 5.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.27.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.08. Turning Point Brands had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 11.53%.The firm had revenue of $124.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $115.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Turning Point Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Turning Point Brands, Inc. will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Turning Point Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 18th. Turning Point Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.88%.

Insider Activity at Turning Point Brands

In related news, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.67, for a total transaction of $366,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $846,114.10. The trade was a 30.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Turning Point Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 54.9% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.