Turning Point Brands, Inc. $TPB Shares Sold by First Financial Bank Trust Division

Key Points

• First Financial Bank Trust Division drastically reduced its stake in Turning Point Brands, Inc. by 95%, now holding only 2,780 shares after selling 53,012 shares in the second quarter.
• Turning Point Brands announced a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $0.30 and a dividend yield of 0.3%.
• After a recent earnings report, analysts have mixed views, with Zacks raising the stock's rating to strong-buy while Wall Street Zen downgraded it to hold.

First Financial Bank Trust Division cut its position in Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) by 95.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,780 shares of the company's stock after selling 53,012 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division's holdings in Turning Point Brands were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TPB. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Turning Point Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Turning Point Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 97,250.0% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,894 shares of the company's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 3,890 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $290,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Turning Point Brands

In other Turning Point Brands news, Director Lawrence Wexler sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.94, for a total transaction of $1,898,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 330,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,074,324.84. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 10,800 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.67, for a total transaction of $817,236.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $769,639.57. The trade was a 51.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on TPB shares. Wall Street Zen cut Turning Point Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Turning Point Brands from $85.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Turning Point Brands from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.83.

Turning Point Brands Stock Up 1.7%

TPB opened at $102.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.67. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.50 and a 12 month high of $102.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.84 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.31.

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

Turning Point Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.55%.

Turning Point Brands 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.

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