Comerica Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB)

Comerica Bank reduced its holdings in Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,624 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,571 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Turning Point Brands were worth $278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $73,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. bought a new stake in Turning Point Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $212,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Turning Point Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Turning Point Brands Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE TPB opened at $73.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 4.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.14 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.64. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.61 and a 52 week high of $81.05.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.16. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 33.14%. The business had revenue of $106.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. Turning Point Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Turning Point Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Turning Point Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Turning Point Brands’s payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at Turning Point Brands

In other news, Director Gregory H.A. Baxter sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.64, for a total value of $110,460.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,976,455.16. This trade represents a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 3,500 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total transaction of $265,125.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 10,171 shares in the company, valued at $770,453.25. This trade represents a 25.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TPB shares. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Turning Point Brands in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Turning Point Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Turning Point Brands from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners initiated coverage on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Turning Point Brands has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.67.

About Turning Point Brands

Turning Point Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes branded consumer products. The company operates through three segments: Zig-Zag Products, Stoker’s Products, and Creative Distribution Solutions. Zig-Zag Products segment markets and distributes rolling papers, tubes, finished cigars, make-your-own cigar wraps, and related products, as well as lighters and other accessories under the Zig-Zag brand.