Wall Street Zen Downgrades Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) to Hold

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 cut shares of Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Oppenheimer upped their target price 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.67.

Turning Point Brands Trading Up 2.3%

TPB traded up $1.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.74. 38,166 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 246,366. Turning Point Brands has a one year low of $34.78 and a one year high of $81.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 4.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.97 and a beta of 0.75. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $74.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.78.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Turning Point Brands 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 20th. Turning Point Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Activity at Turning Point Brands

In other news, Director Gregory H.A. Baxter sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.64, for a total transaction of $110,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,976,455.16. This trade represents a 3.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lawrence Wexler sold 25,000 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,666,867 in the last quarter. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Turning Point Brands

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Right Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Turning Point Brands by 356.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Right Capital Management L.P. now owns 134,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,075,000 after buying an additional 104,931 shares during the period. 4D Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Turning Point Brands in the first quarter worth $5,647,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Turning Point Brands by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 318,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,145,000 after acquiring an additional 84,552 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 122.3% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 121,804 shares of the company's stock worth $7,240,000 after acquiring an additional 67,005 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Turning Point Brands during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,921,000. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.