GatePass Capital LLC Increases Holdings in Turning Point Brands, Inc. $TPB

GatePass Capital LLC increased its position in Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) by 76.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,677 shares during the quarter. Turning Point Brands makes up about 1.1% of GatePass Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. GatePass Capital LLC’s holdings in Turning Point Brands were worth $2,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 4.7% during the first 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. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Turning Point Brands by 1,428.7% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 4,286 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Turning Point Brands by 150.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 141,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,759,000 after purchasing an additional 85,378 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Turning Point Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 21.3% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 182,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,852,000 after buying an additional 32,109 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Turning Point Brands Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE TPB opened at $89.79 on Tuesday. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $146.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.56. The company has a current ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 4.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.54 and a beta of 0.93.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $124.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $115.67 million. Turning Point Brands had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 11.53%.The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Turning Point Brands, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Turning Point Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 19th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 18th. Turning Point Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.88%.

Insider Transactions at Turning Point Brands

In related news, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 9,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $846,114.10. This trade represents a 30.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Flynn sold 2,000 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value of $195,140.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 9,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $921,353.51. The trade was a 17.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on TPB shares. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Turning Point Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Turning Point Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Turning Point Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Turning Point Brands from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.75.

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.