Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) Upgraded by BTIG Research to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Key Points

• BTIG Research upgraded Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) to a “strong-buy” rating, adding to a generally bullish analyst outlook. The stock now has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.50.
• Turning Point Brands reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.76 versus estimates of $0.68 and revenue of $124.28 million versus $115.67 million expected. Revenue rose 16.8% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 1.39.
• The company’s stock opened at $78.18, below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while hedge funds remain heavily invested with 96.12% of shares owned by institutional investors. Insider activity also included a sale by CAO Brian Wigginton of 4,000 shares.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at BTIG Research to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on TPB. Compass Point set a $103.00 price target on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised Turning Point Brands from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Turning Point Brands from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Turning Point Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $113.50.

Turning Point Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:TPB opened at $78.18 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $84.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.88. The company has a quick ratio of 4.05, a current ratio of 5.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59 and a beta of 0.92. Turning Point Brands has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $146.90.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $124.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $115.67 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Turning Point Brands will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Turning Point Brands news, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.67, for a total transaction of $366,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $846,114.10. This trade represents a 30.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TPB. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Turning Point Brands by 1,428.7% during the second 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 in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Turning Point Brands by 150.8% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Turning Point Brands in the second quarter worth $220,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Turning Point Brands by 21.3% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 182,812 shares of the company's stock worth $13,852,000 after acquiring an additional 32,109 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Turning Point Brands

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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