Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Turning Point Brands was downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, while Oppenheimer upgraded its target price from $65 to $85 with an "outperform" rating.
• The company reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.91 per share in its recent quarterly results, surpassing estimates of $0.75, with a significant revenue increase of 28.2% year-over-year.
• Despite the mixed ratings, institutional investors heavily dominate the company’s stock, owning 96.12% of it, indicating strong institutional support and interest.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

Separately, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Turning Point Brands from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.67.

Turning Point Brands Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:TPB traded up $0.31 on Friday, hitting $78.30. 274,701 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 344,301. Turning Point Brands has a 52 week low of $34.78 and a 52 week high of $81.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 4.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.48. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76 and a beta of 0.75.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.16. Turning Point Brands had a return on equity of 27.70% and a net margin of 10.19%. The company had revenue of $106.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $95.75 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. Turning Point Brands's revenue was up 28.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Turning Point Brands will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Turning Point Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 20th. Turning Point Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 10,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.67, for a total value of $817,236.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,171 shares in the company, valued at $769,639.57. This trade represents a 51.50% 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, CEO Graham Purdy sold 21,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total value of $1,602,646.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 227,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,034,928.74. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 115,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,666,867 in the last 90 days. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Turning Point Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 90.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 328 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 78,087 shares of the company's stock worth $4,693,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 3.5% in 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 during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.