Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) Shares Up 8.5% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares of Turning Point Brands jumped about 8.5% intraday to roughly $80.62 from a prior close of $74.29 on volume near 410,200 shares.
• Analyst views are mixed—MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Hold" with an average target of $116.67, while Oppenheimer rates it outperform with a $130 target and others have issued downgrades.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.08 (annualized $0.32, ~0.4% yield); the CFO sold 2,000 shares in March, and institutional investors own the vast majority of shares (~96%).

Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 8.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $80.43 and last traded at $80.62. 410,200 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 0% from the average session volume of 411,666 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TPB. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Turning Point Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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 reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.67.

Turning Point Brands Stock Up 9.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $106.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 4.12 and a current ratio of 5.56.

Turning Point Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This is an increase from Turning Point Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Turning Point Brands's payout ratio is presently 10.22%.

Insider Activity at Turning Point Brands

In other Turning Point Brands news, CFO Andrew Flynn sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,353.51. The trade was a 17.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Turning Point Brands

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TPB. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,198 shares of the company's stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 18,674 shares of the company's stock worth $1,415,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 25,783 shares of the company's stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 1,428.7% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,586 shares of the company's stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 4,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 150.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 141,995 shares of the company's stock worth $10,759,000 after buying an additional 85,378 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently 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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