Turning Point Brands, Inc. $TPB Position Lowered by Aristides Capital LLC

Key Points

• Aristides Capital LLC has reduced its stake in Turning Point Brands by 7.6%, making it the firm's 10th largest position with a total holding of 99,360 shares.
• Turning Point Brands recently announced a $0.075 quarterly dividend, with a payout ratio of 12.55% and an annualized yield of 0.3%.
• The company's stock saw a 2.0% decline and has experienced significant insider selling, totaling 110,300 shares in the last three months, valued at over $8.2 million.

Aristides Capital LLC cut its stake in Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,360 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,120 shares during the quarter. Turning Point Brands accounts for about 1.7% of Aristides Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Aristides Capital LLC owned 0.56% of Turning Point Brands worth $5,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TPB. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 29.0% in 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 during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Prescott General Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $210,000. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Turning Point Brands news, CEO Graham Purdy sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.03, for a total value of $2,250,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 227,466 shares in the company, valued at $17,066,773.98. This represents a 11.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Usher sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.25, for a total transaction of $45,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $464,668.75. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 110,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,291,282. Insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Turning Point Brands Price Performance

Shares of TPB traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $99.39. The stock had a trading volume of 424,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,366. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.58 and a beta of 0.66. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.08 and a 12 month high of $102.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $84.35 and a 200 day moving average of $72.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 4.22.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $116.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.30 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 25.32%. The company's revenue was up 25.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Turning Point Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Turning Point Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Turning Point Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on TPB shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Turning Point Brands from $85.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Turning Point Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Turning Point Brands from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Two equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Turning Point Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $78.83.

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.