Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) Trading Down 5.7% – Should You Sell?

Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) fell 5.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $100.60 and last traded at $101.49. 278,064 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 329,608 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Turning Point Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Turning Point Brands in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Turning Point Brands in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Turning Point Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.67.

Turning Point Brands Stock Down 1.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a current ratio of 5.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $119.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.62. The stock has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.10 and a beta of 0.85.

Turning Point Brands Increases Dividend

The firm 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%. This is a boost from Turning Point Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. Turning Point Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.58%.

Insider Transactions at Turning Point Brands

In other Turning Point Brands news, Director H.C. Charles Diao sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.20, for a total value of $216,400.00. Following the sale, the director 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman David Edward Glazek sold 30,000 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.26, for a total value of $3,307,800.00. Following the sale, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,000 shares of company stock worth $3,719,340. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Turning Point Brands by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Turning Point Brands by 2.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 91,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,951,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Turning Point Brands by 5.0% in the second quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 33,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Turning Point Brands in the second quarter worth approximately $1,068,000. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Turning Point Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $2,658,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

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.