Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) Raised to "Buy" at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham & Company upgraded Turning Point Brands (TPB) from "hold" to "buy" and set a $125 price target, implying roughly a 38.4% upside from the prior close.
• TPB topped estimates last quarter with $0.76 EPS vs. $0.68 expected and revenue of $124.28M (up 16.8% year-over-year); analysts project about 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Analyst opinions are mixed—four Buys and one Sell—resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $118.75.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $125.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price suggests a potential upside of 38.40% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on TPB. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Turning Point Brands in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Turning Point Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Zacks Research downgraded Turning Point Brands from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Turning Point Brands from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $118.75.

Turning Point Brands Price Performance

Shares of TPB stock opened at $90.32 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $87.65 and its 200 day moving average is $101.44. The company has a quick ratio of 4.12, a current ratio of 5.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86 and a beta of 0.93. Turning Point Brands has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $146.90.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $124.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $115.67 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 20.08%. The company's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Research analysts expect that Turning Point Brands will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Turning Point Brands

In other news, CFO Andrew Flynn sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $195,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $921,353.51. The trade was a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Turning Point Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Turning Point Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Turning Point Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 96.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Turning Point Brands Company Profile

Turning Point Brands, Inc NYSE: TPB is a U.S.-based consumer products company focused on the manufacture, marketing and distribution of smokeless tobacco, vaping and cigar products. Headquartered in Old Hickory, Tennessee, the company serves retail outlets across all 50 states through a direct-store-delivery network and select third-party distributors. Turning Point Brands operates two reporting segments—Smokeless Products and Cigar—and leverages its logistics capabilities to offer a broad portfolio of brands and SKUs.

In its Smokeless Products segment, Turning Point Brands produces moist smokeless tobacco under leading brand names such as Grizzly, Kodiak and Stoker's.

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