PDT Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Turning Point Brands, Inc. $TPB

Key Points

• PDT Partners LLC has invested approximately $549,000 in Turning Point Brands, acquiring 9,232 shares during the first quarter, which represents about 0.05% ownership of the company.
• Turning Point Brands reported a 25.1% increase in revenue, reaching $116.63 million for the latest quarter, and has surpassed EPS estimates by $0.19.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.075, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.3%, with the payment scheduled for October 10th to shareholders of record as of September 19th.

PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $549,000. PDT Partners LLC owned 0.05% of Turning Point Brands as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 0.6% in the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 26,370 shares of the company's stock worth $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 4.1% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,083 shares of the company's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Turning Point Brands by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,739 shares of the company's stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Turning Point Brands by 1.9% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 24,531 shares of the company's stock worth $1,458,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Turning Point Brands by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,364 shares of the company's stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TPB shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Turning Point Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Turning Point Brands from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Turning Point Brands from $85.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Turning Point Brands in a report on Friday, August 1st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $78.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Graham Purdy sold 21,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total transaction of $1,602,646.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 227,466 shares in the company, valued at $17,034,928.74. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 10,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.67, for a total transaction of $817,236.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $769,639.57. This represents a 51.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,200 shares of company stock worth $4,318,382. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Turning Point Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TPB traded down $1.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $98.17. The stock had a trading volume of 15,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,082. The company's 50-day moving average price is $87.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.08 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.08 and a fifty-two week high of $102.90.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $116.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.30 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 25.32%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 25.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Turning Point Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 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, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Turning Point Brands's payout ratio is presently 12.55%.

Turning Point Brands Company Profile

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.