Turning Point Brands, Inc. (TPB) Upgraded at Zacks Investment Research

Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, July 18th.

According to Zacks, “Turning Point Brands, Inc. provides tobacco products. The Company’s product consists of moist snuff, loose leaf chewing tobacco, cigarette papers, make-your-own cigar wraps and cigar smoking tobacco, cigars and liquid and tobacco vapour. Its portfolio of brands includes Zig-Zag(R), Beech-Nut(R) and Stoker’s(R). Turning Point Brands, Inc. is based in Louisville, Kentucky. “

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on TPB. Cowen and Company reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Monday, May 15th. FBR & Co reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Friday, May 12th.

Shares of Turning Point Brands (TPB) traded down 0.06% during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.64. 18,156 shares of the company traded hands. The firm has a market cap of $294.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.89. Turning Point Brands has a 52-week low of $8.67 and a 52-week high of $18.05.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 11th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $66.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.90 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 131.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Turning Point Brands will post $1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other Turning Point Brands news, insider Lawrence Wexler sold 1,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.42, for a total transaction of $30,508.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 219,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,598,229.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director George Hebard acquired 3,000 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.59 per share, with a total value of $46,770.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,770. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in Turning Point Brands by 10.0% in the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 33,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Turning Point Brands by 351.0% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 5,082 shares during the period. Spark Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Turning Point Brands by 33.7% in the first quarter. Spark Investment Management LLC now owns 23,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new stake in Turning Point Brands during the second quarter worth about $143,000. Finally, Steinberg Global Asset Management raised its stake in Turning Point Brands by 33.8% in the second quarter. Steinberg Global Asset Management now owns 39,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 9,920 shares during the period. 68.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Turning Point Brands Company Profile

Turning Point Brands, Inc is an independent provider of Other Tobacco Products (OTP) in the United States. The Company operates in three segments smokeless products, smoking products and NewGen products. The smokeless products segment manufactures and markets moist snuff; and contracts for and markets chewing tobacco products.

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