DCF Advisers LLC Trims Stake in Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB)

Key Points

• DCF Advisers LLC reduced its stake in Turning Point Brands by 69.9%, selling 23,415 shares and now owns 10,100 shares valued at $600,000.
• Insiders have sold a total of 115,300 shares of Turning Point Brands in the last quarter, which is valued at approximately $8.67 million, indicating notable insider activity.
• Turning Point Brands reported earnings per share of $0.91 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a revenue increase of 28.2% compared to the previous year.

DCF Advisers LLC lowered its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) by 69.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,100 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,415 shares during the quarter. DCF Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Turning Point Brands worth $600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Turning Point Brands by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,524,640 shares of the company's stock worth $91,631,000 after buying an additional 18,440 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Turning Point Brands by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,251 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,549,000 after buying an additional 19,172 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in Turning Point Brands by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 52,917 shares of the company's stock worth $3,180,000 after buying an additional 19,847 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Turning Point Brands in the fourth quarter worth $1,207,000. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Turning Point Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,940,000. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Turning Point Brands Price Performance

Shares of TPB traded down $1.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $91.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 144,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,285. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.93. The company has a current ratio of 4.42, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.97 and a beta of 0.66. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.35 and a 1-year high of $94.40.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $116.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.30 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 27.70%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Turning Point Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Turning Point Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Turning Point Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on TPB shares. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Turning Point Brands from $85.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Turning Point Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.83.

Insider Activity at Turning Point Brands

In related news, Director Lawrence Wexler sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.94, for a total value of $1,898,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 330,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,074,324.84. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Usher sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.25, for a total transaction of $45,150.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $464,668.75. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,800 shares of company stock worth $8,401,742 in the last quarter. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.