Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. Grows Position in Turning Point Brands, Inc. $TPB

Key Points

• Bronte Capital Management increased its stake in Turning Point Brands by 75.9% in the first quarter, lifting its holdings to 42,859 shares worth about $3.72 million.
• Analyst sentiment was mixed: Needham upgraded TPB to "buy" with a $125 price target, while other firms made smaller downgrades. The stock’s consensus rating remains Hold with an average target of $118.75.
• Turning Point Brands beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.76 EPS on $124.28 million in revenue, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) by 75.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,859 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,487 shares during the period. Turning Point Brands comprises about 0.4% of Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. owned approximately 0.22% of Turning Point Brands worth $3,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Turning Point Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Turning Point Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Turning Point Brands by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 457 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Turning Point Brands

In related news, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 4,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,230 shares in the company, valued at $846,114.10. This trade represents a 30.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Turning Point Brands Trading Down 1.7%

Turning Point Brands stock opened at $85.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $84.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 4.05 and a current ratio of 5.87. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $146.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of 29.20 and a beta of 0.92.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $124.28 million for 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 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, research analysts anticipate that Turning Point Brands, Inc. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Turning Point Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 19th 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 Thursday, June 18th. Turning Point Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.88%.

Turning Point Brands 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.

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