Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $113.50.

Several analysts have recently commented on TPB shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Turning Point Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Turning Point Brands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Needham & Company LLC raised Turning Point Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Compass Point set a $103.00 price target on Turning Point Brands in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on Turning Point Brands in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $103.00 price target for the company.

Turning Point Brands Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of Turning Point Brands stock opened at $78.67 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.22. Turning Point Brands has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $146.90.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $124.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $115.67 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 16.54%. Turning Point Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Turning Point Brands will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Turning Point Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 19th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Turning Point Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.88%.

Insider Transactions at Turning Point Brands

In other Turning Point Brands news, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.67, for a total value of $366,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $846,114.10. This trade represents a 30.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Turning Point Brands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Turning Point Brands by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Turning Point Brands by 1,428.7% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 4,286 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Turning Point Brands by 150.8% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 141,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,759,000 after purchasing an additional 85,378 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Turning Point Brands in the second quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 21.3% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 182,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,852,000 after purchasing an additional 32,109 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.