Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) Upgraded by BTIG Research to “Strong-Buy” Rating

BTIG Research upgraded shares of Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

TPB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Turning Point Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Turning Point Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Turning Point Brands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Compass Point set a $103.00 price objective on Turning Point Brands in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.50.

Turning Point Brands Stock Performance

Shares of TPB stock opened at $78.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 5.87 and a quick ratio of 4.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $84.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.88. Turning Point Brands has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $146.90.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $115.67 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Turning Point Brands will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Turning Point Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 19th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 18th. Turning Point Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.88%.

Insider Transactions at Turning Point Brands

In other news, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 4,000 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.67, for a total value of $366,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $846,114.10. This trade represents a 30.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Turning Point Brands

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Turning Point Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Turning Point Brands during the third quarter worth $28,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Turning Point Brands during the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is currently 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.