Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 272,800 shares, an increase of 62.7% from the November 30th total of 167,700 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 171,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TPB. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Turning Point Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Roth Capital raised shares of Turning Point Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Turning Point Brands from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.75.

Turning Point Brands Trading Up 0.3 %

TPB traded up $0.18 on Friday, reaching $59.84. 150,650 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,620. Turning Point Brands has a twelve month low of $21.98 and a twelve month high of $66.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $56.20 and its 200-day moving average is $44.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 4.21. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75 and a beta of 0.66.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $105.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $100.71 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 33.14%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Turning Point Brands will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Turning Point Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Turning Point Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Turning Point Brands

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of TPB. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 24,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,065,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 0.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 119,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,849,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Turning Point Brands during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 25,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,107,000 after buying an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

About Turning Point Brands

Turning Point Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes branded consumer products. The company operates through three segments: Zig-Zag Products, Stoker’s Products, and Creative Distribution Solutions. Zig-Zag Products segment markets and distributes rolling papers, tubes, finished cigars, make-your-own cigar wraps, and related products, as well as lighters and other accessories under the Zig-Zag brand.