Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) Shares Down 22.2% – Time to Sell?

Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) shares traded down 22.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $71.14 and last traded at $67.5230. 140,161 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 367,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on TPB shares. Wall Street Zen cut Turning Point Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Turning Point Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Turning Point Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.67.

Turning Point Brands Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 5.56 and a quick ratio of 4.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.98. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02 and a beta of 1.02.

Turning Point Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Turning Point Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Turning Point Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew Flynn sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $195,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,353.51. This trade represents a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Turning Point Brands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TPB. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Turning Point Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Turning Point Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Turning Point Brands during the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Turning Point Brands during the third quarter worth $28,000. 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.