Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Shares of Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $109.22, but opened at $105.56. Turning Point Brands shares last traded at $105.9750, with a volume of 1,717 shares changing hands.

Specifically, Chairman David Edward Glazek sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.26, for a total value of $3,307,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 127,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,012,171.58. This trade represents a 19.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director H.C. Charles Diao sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.20, for a total transaction of $216,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,804 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,792.80. This trade represents a 16.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TPB. Wall Street Zen raised Turning Point Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Turning Point Brands from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Turning Point Brands in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Turning Point Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners upped their price objective on shares of Turning Point Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Turning Point Brands presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.50.

Turning Point Brands Trading Up 0.5%

The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 37.88 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.57. The company has a current ratio of 5.56, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $118.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.42 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 12.02% and a return on equity of 24.44%. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Turning Point Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Turning Point Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 19th. Turning Point Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Turning Point Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 90.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 328 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Turning Point Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Turning Point Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.